Drained into Darkness
by love-cry-laugh-live
Summary: When she is attacked in her garden Hermione Granger becomes a creature of the night. She recives help from a surprising source, but when a threat to their scoiety means they have to work together could they find love in the darkness?
1. Chapter 1

A/N – This is my 1st ever fanfic and I know its a short chapter but I just wanted to put the idea out there and see what people thought. As this is my first fic I know the quality is not amazing but I hope to expand and develop my writing. Any feedback is welcome but please be polite. If you hate it tell me why. Thanks xXx

Chapter 1: Death is only the beginning

As the sharp teeth of the creature bit into her neck Hermione knew that this was the end. She had lived a good life, always working hard and willing to help those not as gifted as her, namely Neville Longbottom. She felt the blood seep from her; just before she lost consciousness she felt a sharp jolt go through her. Then she fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

She should be dead, she knew she should be dead yet she was surrounded in silk sheets. A faint smell of cinnamon filled her nostrils and the room was completely dark and she could not make out anything. As awareness began to fill her hazy mind panic began to set in. She tried to move her arm but they felt like lead, too heavy to lift from the plush mattress beneath her. Just as she was contemplating how to get out of bed a door, which she had not noticed before, opened revealing a very familiar site that filled her with dread. Standing in the doorway was a very irate Severus Snape.

He stood for a moment before slowly walking into the room.

"P..P..Professor Snape" Hermione stammered over her words, it was almost as though she hadn't spoken before, her throat was dry and coarse and the words felt strange and unusual to her. "Where am I sir? what happened? where is everyone?" the endless barrage of questions spilled over her lips before she could stop them. She was already beginning to feel better but for some reason she felt different, like she had changed in some indefinable way.

"Miss Granger it appears that even your death cannot stem that annoying habit for questions, I had hopped your experience would help you to mature somewhat, but it seems I was wrong. You remain the foolish child that you always were." The cruel words of torment were enough to leave the potions master feeling much better; having let go some of his anger while insulting the girl made him a lot calmer. He no longer stood as straight and his muscles seemed to relax a little bit, going from pure rage to the usual state of tension.

"Death..I'm not dead sir I'm right here...and I don't appreciate being spoken to like a child. I am no longer a student and I am 19 years old, legal age in both the wizard and muggle world. I demand 

that you tell me where I am." Her eyes portraying her panic, and despite the cold exterior inside she was afraid.

"Miss Granger, when members of this clan found you early this morning you had bite marks on your neck and unfortunately despite their best efforts the change had begun. You're not dead in the traditional sense, Miss Granger, as of this morning you are a member of an ancient clan, one which I had hoped never to have to revel to any student of mine but nevertheless here we are and I am now responsible for your welfare. " He could see the confusion on her face and being the cold hearted man he was he did nothing to stem her panic he merely carried on with his speech. "Miss Granger, you will be staying in this house for the foreseeable future so you may as well get used to it. The clan to which you now belong is one of twenty that exist and one of the five original vampire settlements. We are called **Caveat**"

"Vampire" Hermione's voice was suddenly weaker than a Childs and she seemed to sink into the bed. Turing away from the Professor she turned to face the dark wall. The room was a little lighter now the door was open and she could make out furniture that looked ancient. A large wardrobe stood opposite the bed, a matching chest nest to the bed and a small empty bookshelf was discarded behind the door.

Suddenly it struck her, why was she thinking about the position of furniture when she had just been told she was a vampire. Surly that was more important than a wardrobe? But she could not seem to comprehend it. Even in the magical world she had lived in since she was eleven the idea of vampire seemed silly to her. They were the stuff of bedtime stories that her dad used to read her when she couldn't sleep as a child. This was not real, but then she remembered the pressure on her neck as she stood in the garden of her parents' home in Kent. The horrible feeling of knowing your dying and being powerless to stop overcame her once more as she began to shake.

Seeing the girl begin to go into shock prompted Severus into action, he had been patiently standing waiting for her to turn around and screaming at him. But when she began to shake he knew she had come to her own conclusion and was correct in thinking she had become one of the dammed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hey, i was so pleased to get a review that i just had to finish chapter 2 for today. i hope to be able to update every 2-3 days but that will change when school starts in September. Hope you enjoy this chapter please review as it gives me an amazing buzz to know people actually like my story!!

Chapter 2: Vampires- A history

Her hair was soft beneath his fingers; her once wild untamed curls were now dead straight and waist length. She had been unconscious for 3 days since the conversation in which she found out about her transformation from Hogwarts Graduate into creature of the night. He had no idea as to how she would react to the changes of her body when she woke up. It was unusual for a fledgling to sleep for this long and he was beginning to worry. She had not taken the news well, the last time they had spoken she had withdrawn into herself. Shaking and staring at the wall refusing to talk or even look at him. Then she had fainted. Although her vital signs were showing that she was healthy, well for a vampire anyway, she simply refused to wake up. The excuses he had made to the clan leaders were getting old. They wanted to meet the newest member and they were becoming very impatient.

The clan of Caveatwas an ancient clan that abided by the old law and customs of vampire culture. So once she awoke she was going to have to learn her place and that was going to be hard for such a strong willed girl like her. Severus was worried about her reaction to him, he had heard the rumours that went around the school "old bat" and "greasy git" were the most common. Now she would find out about his true nature, and just how true the rumours were. Severus did not like exposing himself to others, it was his nature to shut himself away and hide from the people who wanted to judge him, people like James Potter and Sirius Black. Their childish torments had done more damage than they intended, Severus was alone in his school life. No-one there knew he was a vampire, expect the all-knowing Albus Dumbledore, and at home in the clan no-one knew of Hogwarts. Completely isolated and alone the young boy had made some decisions that he would regret forever. He shook his head as if to free himself of the thoughts and concentrated on the sleeping woman before him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was another 3 days before Hermione regained consciousness, one minute she was asleep and the next she was sitting bolt upright in the bed. As she turned her head to face Severus who had been reading in an arm chair by the bed, she began to sniff the air. Her nostrils were flaring and her eyes were focused on him giving her a very animal like look. As she adjusted to being awake and her eyes lost their feral quality she found herself staring at the unmoving figure of her former professor, all the events seemed to come crashing back to her in great waves of terror, fear overtook her and she jumped from the bed running to him, clinging to his customary black robes as if they were the only thing she had in the world. Her eyes closed as she breathes in the comfortingly familiar fragrance of cinnamon and rosewood, her muscles relaxed as she settled against him.

Severus on the other hand was sitting stiffly in complete shock. He had been expecting rage and shouting not the desperate, scared girl that had run to him. Him, the big scary bat that lurked in the 

dungeons, he could not remember the last time someone had looked to him for comfort. He had to stifle an overbearing urge to take the girl in his arms and never let her go but he knew that was a bad idea, she would never willingly run to him, he just happened to be there at the time. He strongly believed that no woman would ever choose him let alone the young, brilliant and beautiful Hermione Granger. Wait a minute, his internal voice sneered, I do NOT think she is beautiful or brilliant his mind seemed to back up this voice and he put his thoughts down to the unusual situation he found himself in.

"Where am I, sir?" Hermione's voice was hoarse and muffled on account of her face being buried in Severus's robes.

"Inside the home of the Caveat vampires Miss Granger, it is an old house in the outskirts of Abbeyleix in Ireland. I believe it has been home to the clan for nearly 600 years" Severus voice took on the qualities of the professor inside him, ready to lecture and inform her of all the things she wanted to know.

"How did I come to be here? Sir" although her voice was weak and her mind was working overtime she managed to remain polite, he was after all a former professor and in her mind a title like that demanded respect no matter what situation she found herself.

"Cauio, a vampire and one of the Aranea"

"Aranea, sir" came Hermione's interruption.

"In Latin it means 'spider's web' but we use as a name for our elite vampires, our spies. If your quite finished interrupting Miss Granger" he was met with silence so he continued "Cauio was out hunting for a vampire from another clan, the one who sired you, he was tracking him and when he smelt the blood he was able to find you and remove the vampire from you. Unfortunately he escaped while Cauio was tending to you. He did everything he could but the change was already underway so he brought you back here. When it was found that you were a former student of mine I was assigned to teach you our ways and guide you through the complex customs you are expected to uphold"

"What about Harry and Ron and the war." she gasped "my parents, they probably think I just vanished. Oh, there probably panicked. I have to owl them to tell them I'm ok then i"

"Miss Granger stop that incessant babbling at once!" She knew that voice from when she sat in his potions classroom and that was the voice that was reserved for the purpose of rendering Neville Longbottom to tears, that voice meant he was angry. It was not a shout; it was quiet and soft with a deadly undertone to it. That whispered voice was more terrifying than any other sound in the world when she was a student, but now it just made her angry she was not a child anymore, hell, she wasn't even human anymore. What gave him the right to talk to her like that when she had been nothing but curious to him in the eight years she had known him, except for a couple of minor incidents with Harry and Ron many years ago.

It was almost as though her could feel her about to argue with him for at the exact moment she opened her mouth to tell him what she thought he began speaking again.

"Your parents have been informed that you have returned to Hogwarts as Potter was taken ill last week, he is unfortunately not ill and he and the Weasley have been hounding Professor Dumbledore with questions for the last week. Albus has been informed of the circumstances as has agreed to keep an eye on your family and the abomination of nature that you call a cat. Believe the Order of the Phoenix has been told little of your whereabouts only that you were attacked and are now staying with me for the time being"

"Oh. Right, thank you sir." She sounded relived, her family was safe and that meant she could concentrate on herself and trying to find a way to come to terms with this change. Many would have panicked and tried to deny and hide away from what had happened but Hermione knew that it was the truth, she remembered the bite for god's sake, and she could not fool herself into believing that it was all one of Fred and George's jokes. So she had decided to look on it as a learning opportunity something new to research and study. This decision was taken in the spur of the moment and she still didn't understand what being a vampire would truly mean for her life and her relationships with the people she loved. There was one thing she was curious about though and that was the Professor whose robes she was currently clinging to. He was acting very different from what she had expected. He was rude but not hurtful in the same way he once was, this lead her to believe that he understood her plight. Before she could stop them, questions tumbled from her lips.

"What about you? Sir, are you a vampire, do you live here, what happened to you?" when he heard these inevitable questions Severus's body tensed and Hermione got the feeling she had gone one step too far.

"My past is none of your business Miss Granger and I would thank you to keep your annoying questions to yourself" and with that he stood up, sending Hermione crashing to the floor. He began to pace the small room, debating with himself about whether he should tell her about himself or not. His inner voice settled that argument with a sharp "No, you fool what business is it of hers. Your job is to help her not spill more problems onto the poor girl. It would only cause her to pity you." "But it may help her to trust me and she needs to trust me. It could help her see me as a friend" then the voice cut it "FRIEND why do you want her as a friend. You've never needed friends before. You must be going soft Sev, your beginning to act like you care." The taunting ring of his own demons was enough for him to decide not to ever let the infernal girl get to close to him. He didn't need her Gryffindor nature to help him. He is Severus Snape and he was not going to change his ways for an annoying little know-it-all.

Hermione was also having an internal debate but hers was not as dark as the Professors. She was the exact opposite of what he wanted her to do. She was planning a way to find out about him, she was 

curious and she knew that nothing would stem that curiosity. Even if she had to wait a while she would find out about Severus Snape and she would help him move on.

With her new found resolve in place she stood up and faced the livid man pacing at the foot of the bed.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to know more about the world I'm living in now. " When he didn't respond to her gentle approach she switched to the voice that Ron had dubbed "scary". "Damn you, you old bat" she cried "can't you even look at me, I'm dead. Do you know what that's like? I need to understand these feelings and I wanted you to help me. Is that such a crime or does big scary Professor Snape just hate everyone so much he doesn't care. Is that it sir, you hate the world that has never shown you love. Well get over it because I need HELP!" she finished her little speech with a cry that echoed around the deathly silent room. She had not meant to go that far but he was just ignoring her. How was she going to learn if he was too angry to teach her? She knew nothing of the vampire ways and really didn't want to get herself killed for doing something wrong before she had a chance to learn them. While she waited for his reply, she knew better than t push him anymore; she decided to take a good look at her surroundings. Since she arrived she knew she had been unconscious for a while but she did not know how long and she knew her hair had changed just from feeling it. She had been trying for years to get her hair to do that and now it happened just as she died, or maybe it was because she died? Anyway, the room was now lit by a fire on the far wall, surrounded by a huge fireplace that wouldn't have looked out of place in a stately home. It was made of what looked like oak and had an intricate set of making carved into it. She realised it was the only source of light in the room as there were no windows. The floor was wooden, ancient looking as all the wood was dark and had marks in it where it had been walked on through the years. The bed stood on the largest wall of the room; it was a huge four poster bed with the same markings as the fireplace carved into it. She began to wonder if they were a language or some form of spell. Opposite the bed on the wall with the door in the corner of was a large wardrobe. Next to her bed was a matching chest that looked as though it hadn't been opened in years. It seemed to draw her attention to it, the strange patterns that danced across the top almost seemed real to her. There was no duct in the room and she wondered if they had house elves to clean. Although she had once been against the use of house elves she could see that they wanted to serve their masters and as long as they were treated right she had given up her quest to free them all. As she turned towards the door she saw the small bookcase she had barely noticed earlier. It was always sad to see an empty bookcase and she began to wonder if she could get some of her books to fill it. The thought of home, her little flat in London, almost brought tears to her eyes. Had she not realised she needed help she would have tried anything to get back to her normal world. Hermione had always been mature and that was something that set her above her peers, it was that maturity that had lead to the sensible way she had dealt with this situation. Suddenly she was startled out of her thoughts by the gruff voice of Snape.

"It's a very special chest" he motioned towards the chest she had been entranced by "it is from the time when the vampire race ruled over the magical world. I believe it is descended from the mate of 

one of the five original vampires." Although his voice was cold he seemed willing to impart his knowledge and she was going to take advantage of this.

"What are the original vampires?" she had a long list of questions and it seemed reasonable to start at the beginning.

"The original five vampires were the first to become creatures of the night. It is said that they were men who became consumed by their need to live forever that they were cursed by the gods. They could live forever surrounded by darkness, feeding from the living to stay alive. They had to watch from the darkness as their friends died around them, leaving them alone to rule over their children. Fear of becoming one of the dammed prompted them to worship the five, giving them sacrifices and letting them rule over their world." He stopped his story long enough for them both to take seats in the new arm chairs he conjured up in front of the fire. They were comfortable and she welcomed the soft caress of the leather on her aching muscles. Once she was settled he continued with the story she so desperately wanted to hear.

"They ruled for about 300 years until magic began to surface and men began to evolve into wizards. This new race was not afraid of the Five and they proceeded to banish them to the furthest corners of the world. The Five were all selfish men and all wanted to rule over the others, they fought and began to turn people to fight for them. The result was a split, five different clans were born and many people were taken to become vampires. They finally had what they wanted, something to rule over but the war still raged as they tried to overthrow the other members of the Five. That same was has raged for over 4000 years and you, Miss Granger, are the latest victim." He paused to let that sink in, while he waited he thought about what he had said. That was the basic version of events but he had a feeling she would find a million things to question and unfortunately he had a duty to answer her to the best of his knowledge. The sighed mentally; it was going to be a long afternoon.

"You said last time we spoke that there we now twenty clans, how did that happen?"

"There are now twenty settlements now as the sons of the five were just as ambitious as their fathers, they broke away from the rule of the five and began their own settlements, although they are loyal to their original clans and still fight for them, they are recognised as clans in their own right. Each of the five has four sons, so each clan has four allies. The Caveat clan is one of the five originals and our leader is 'Calatios' "

"How is each clan distinguished, I mean what are the differences. How do they tell each other apart?" Hermione was brimming with questions. She in her element, knowledge was something she had always craved and now she was learning about something she was part of. Although she did not yet know how she fitted in.

"There are many differences between the five clans and the others follow the lead of their fathers. The social structure is the same for any clan, the original and his mate at the top. Everyone in the clan was either here by birth or by blood exchange. The members that were born are all descended from the original so they form a hierarchy, like a family. The members brought in by blood exchange are part of the army, and form a structure similar to a muggle army again with the original as their leader. The way the clans are run is the main difference between them, Calatios is the most open to suggestions from his clan therefore Caveat is run with a lot of input from the people who reside here. He makes decisions based on their opinions not just his own and although he is the leader he runs this clan almost like a democracy. As far as I know he is the only leader that operates like this and it is mainly due to the influence of his mate Arianna. She is a kind and loving woman who has been with him for almost 3500 years. Two of the other clans; Scelero lead by Platio and Statim lead by Vexatious are both savage, bloodthirsty clans that are responsible for the myths about vampires that hunt and kill for fun and are governed by a lust for blood. The originals lead in a harsh and unforgiving manner similar to a dictatorship, even their own mates and families are not exempted from the wrath. They are responsible for the hatred and fear that people hold for our race, they are know supporters of Voldemort. The other two clans are; Vaco lead by Logert and Xiphias lead by Pleous are very private they are not excessively violent but can be vengeful and bloody fighters. The originals lead in an unforgiving way but are open to polite input from the clan, very much like the courts of medieval muggle times.

You can tell the clans apart by their eyes, you have not yet seen your eyes but when you do you will find them black. This is a sign of your race; all vampires have one colour for the eyes. You still have the whites but the pupils died when you change and this means the colour of your iris becomes one whole block. The colour of the block is determined by whose blood you drink to change. The five colours are: black for Caveat, light blue for Vaco, green for Xiphias, yellow for Scelero and blood red for Statim. "Once he had stopped he looked at her face, he could see her processing all the new information she had received. It was a lot to take in and over the next few weeks she was going to have to cope with a whole new way of life.

After a few moments Hermione had had a chance to think on what she had just learned and although it had answered some of her questions it had raised a whole lot more. She could not believe that there was a whole world living in the shadows and the she was now part of an ancient war that was far more deadly than the threat of Voldemort and that no-one knew about it. The thought of Voldemort lead her to thoughts of Harry, she wondered if he was ok, how he as coping and whether there had been anymore death surrounding the people he cared about. Ron was a dilemma that she was not looking forward to dealing with, the hot headed Weasley would want to protect her and keep her safe when it was perfectly clear that she was more capable of defending herself than he was, also she had the feeling he wanted more than friendship from her and that was something she was defiantly not willing to give. She had had a few relationships with muggle boys over the summers she spent away from Hogwarts and she was not, as many thought, a virgin. Ron was a sweet boy but he would never satisfy her mind or her body and she hoped that wouldn't cost her a friendship that she very much wanted to keep.

"You mentioned that to become a vampire you have to drink the blood of another vampire. Am I correct in assuming that the one who I remember biting me was not the one whose blood I drank? If so, who did turn me and who was the vampire that bit me?" Hermione felt that these were the most important questions she was going to ask as they related directly to her and her future.

Severus was waiting for the subject of her change to come up and it was not something he looked forward to explaining. It was a complex situation that she was in and there was not much information he could give her.

"You are correct as always Miss Granger you were bitten by a Statim, and found, as I mentioned before by Cauio, and he was the one who completed the exchange of blood. When he recognised the change had begun he had to finish it or your soul would have been lost. You are in a very unusual place because the vampire that began the exchange of blood was a different from the one who finished it we are unsure as to what is going to happen. It has never been documented and we therefore assume that you are the first person this has happened to. Also you were bitten by a Statim and that makes you a target for them, we do not know why they targeted you but we suspect it may have to do with your connection to Potter. As there are differences between our clans it is not yet known what traits you will posses. If you add to that the fact that you were a very powerful witch we do not know how the change will affect you. "

There was a pregnant pause and the atmosphere in the room changed from uneasy to extremely tense after the revelation. Hermione was disappointed that it appeared no-one could give her the answers she carved but at the same time the thought of being something new in a world of old was exhilarating and unnerving. Severus was unnerved as he awaited her reaction to the news, he hoped she would not cry, he had never been able to cope with crying women. He was very proud, though he wasn't sure why, when she calmly and maturely asked:

"So...what happens now Professor?"

He was disappointed that he could not give her a real answer on the promise of; "That Miss Granger remains to be seen"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:- Hi. I was amazed by the positive response i got to the last chapter, I thought there was a bit to much information but i really wanted to lay the ground work so i can move the story forwards. Thank you to everyone who left a review, it only takes a second and it gives me a warm feeling to know what people think. I know its all been very nice until now but the next chapter will explore the darker aspects of vampirism. Enjoy...

Just realised I'm supposed to put a disclaimer in my story so here it is: I own nothing all the characters you recognise belong to JKR and I'm making no profit from this story.

Chapter 3 – Introductions

Hermione and Severus were both anxious as they waited. It was the evening after their conversation about the history of vampires and Hermione was amazed by the new knowledge she had gained. Professor Snape had not been able to tell her about what she was going to go through when she changed into her demon form for the first time. He had however told her about the change itself, she learnt that all vampires have a demon inside them which is a form of the soul they lost when they were turned. This demon was usually under the control of the person carrying it. When a person was turned their body died but their soul remained intact tainted by the darkness they consumed when they drank the vampires blood. When a vampire in its normal state it is just like a human except it does not need to breath or eat. When a vampire changed its demon is let loose, it takes a lot to control the demon when it's loose and that is why fledgling vampires are kept inside the clan houses until they have be trained. When a vampire changes for the first time it is always on the eight evening after their turning, normally they were taught the basics before they changed but Hermione had been unconscious for six days and the seventh was spent learning about the history of vampires and Professor Snape was not able to help much as he had no idea what her demon would be like because of the mixing of blood when she was turned. Although the first change cannot be controlled, from then on the fledgling can be trained to release the demon and control it at will. This had great advantages as when the demon was active the vampire had much more powerful senses that could be used to track enemy or listen for ambushes, also their strength was almost four times its normal level. However it is not an easy skill to learn and Hermione was nervous about her abilities and for the first time she was beginning to doubt that she could do it.

Outside the house the sun had just dipped below the horizon, plunging the world into the night, when Hermione began to feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It was as if she could feel the night calling to her. It was a surreal feeling when the first surge ran through her; like she was rolling in power. It was coursing through her veins and giving life to her dead body. She could feel her teeth change into the elongated fangs of a vampire, just long enough to tickle her bottom lip. Her youthful face tensed up to form ridges along the forehead under the eyes. Her finger nails grew to about two centimetres in length, perfect for scratching prey. Although outside her appearance changed dramatically, inside she was not feeling much different she did not feel out of control nor did she feel the need to rip the head off Professor Snape who had moved to the back of the room as if he was prepared to defend himself against a beast.

She was suddenly struck with an over whelming bout of self pity and in a moment of clarity she whispered "I am a monster now". It was as if those words stirred something inside her because as 

soon as they left her lips she changed back to her human guise, tears spilling down her face as she flung herself onto the bed.

Severus had heard her words of loathing and watched in amazement as her form changed and she dived onto the bed in tears. He had no idea what had happened, it was unheard of for a fledgling to be able to control their demons like that, normally they tried to kill blindly overwhelmed by the blood lust, and now she was crying. Heartbreaking sobs filled the room as the broken girl cried into her pillow, releasing all her self- hatred and pain at what ah happened to her. All the emotions that she had kept carefully hidden came pouring out of her and she could so nothing to stop it. Severus had said it to himself time and time again; he was no good with crying women. He remained static as he tried to figure out what to do. He was not used to being out of control, he ruled his life in the same manner he ruled his classroom; strict and emotionless. No room for mistakes that could prove fatal, only efficiency in his work and an emotional detachment form everything around him.

But this annoying girl he had been burdened with had taken his control and stamped on it. He did not know how to handle a teenage girl; he was a 37 year old man completely inept at dealing with emotion of any kind.

Taking all the facts into consideration he decided that he needed help which was something uncharacteristic of him but he knew he needed someone who understood female emotions. He was not going to let his pride be responsible for letting the girl suffer no matter how insufferable she was.

"Miss Granger, I am leaving you to find a female who will be able to understand the emotions you are feeling and I will return immediately." he took the stifled moan as acknowledgement and left the room.

The corridor outside Hermione's room contained all the private rooms of the vampires that did not live at the house full time. Those that did live there had apartments in another part of the house as there were only about 100.

A worn red carpet ran down the middle of the floor showing the polished wood of the floorboards on the edges. It gave the impression that it was once a house of great wealth that had been left for too long. In fact this was the only corridor in the house that was anything less than stunning, everywhere else had been restored to the highest quality. It was a far cry from the stories he had heard from the older vampires about the house when they first moved in. He knew that they had been forced to move here because of the dangers of the age old war they were fighting, the house had been the former home of a wizard but he had had no children so the estate had fallen into disrepair over the eighty years is was uninhabited and the clan had spent over a hundred years doing it up, their improvements were probably better than the original décor.

The house was huge gothic style mansion surrounded by fifty acres of felids making it impossible to gain access without being noticed. Although the house was huge on the outside, inside it was made to look like a Staley home, showcasing the history of the clan and proving to everyone that they had 

money. It was the type of place that legends said vampires inhabit and Severus loved it. Its dark, yet rich demeanour fitted his personality perfectly; this house was the only place he had ever felt at home. As he moved through the complex corridors he became lost in his memories, a childhood spent hiding away with a book in one of the many unused rooms of the house. He carried on walking, not really paying attention to his surroundings anymore, until he came face to face with a large stone door. He knocked loudly on the huge oak door knock in the middle and waited patiently for a reply.

He hated having to ask for help but if he was going to do he would do it properly, so as the door opened revealing a middle aged woman with long black hair and very pale skin Severus bowed his head in respect and was invited inside. The woman was wearing a full length velvet dress in deep red. The contest with her skin and hair was striking; she was tall and very thin but despite this very stereotypical look she had a kind face and the way she carried herself made her seem open and welcoming.

The room they walked into was a very grand parlour two wicker chairs sat on a polished marble floor. As she sat the light from the fire on the back wall caught her eyes for a split second making the black depths seem alive. She gestured with a bony hand for him to sit opposite her.

"What brings you to see me this fine night, young Severus?" Her voice was sweet and she spoke with an very pronounced Irish accent.

"I take it you know of my new charge, lady" when she nodded he continued "the circumstances surrounded her turning were most unusual and have lead to her being in complete control of her demon on her first change. She was most upset by this discovery and I must confess to being unable to deal with the emotions of a teenage girl and would be most grateful of your assistance" he finished the speech by again bowing his head. This was mainly to show respect but also to try and hide the embarrassment he felt at admitting his own faults.

She sighed audibly, "Always so formal Severus, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I'd be more worried if you did understand a teenage girls emotions. Now tell me where is the girl now"

"In her room, I did not presume to know how to comfort her so I left the child to her tears and came to get you." He was almost sneering as he talked of Hermione's emotional state, as if it was a something nasty he had on his shoe.

"Well, come on then, you must take me to her right away. Honestly Severus you just left the poor girl." She scolded him but knew in her heart that he wanted the best for the girl otherwise he would not have arrived at her door asking for help, something she had never seen him do. Even if it was with the same disregard for others as he had always had. She was a little shocked that he would just leave her there but at least he was trying to make the best of a situation that obviously made him uncomfortable.

As they walked back to Hermione's room they did not speak. Severus was thinking about his reaction to Hermione's distress, he was no longer sure that this was the right way to comfort her and that made him nervous. It had been many years since he had reason to doubt himself, not since he was a young man had been so unsure of what to do next.

The lady was planning what she would say to the girl. No-one knew how her demon was going to react and so she could not give any reassurances and without that she struggled to see how she could calm the girl down. What she did know was that any attempt she made would be a thousand times better that whatever Severus had done. No matter how well meaning his words were they always seemed to come out wrong, the knowledge that this was due to him never have experienced kindness from anyone expect Dumbledore was heavy on her heart and she would so anything to help gain some happiness out of his unlife, after all, she thought, no point in living forever if you your going to live it alone.

When they reached the door to Hermione's room there was no noise coming from inside, fearing she had done something stupid Severus burst into the room only to find Hermione sitting in one of the arm chairs in front of the fire, as their eyes met across the room he saw the dried tears and felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, wrap her in his arms and never let her go. It must have shown in his eyes as her gaze was questioning. He quickly pulled back his control and prayed she hadn't read too deeply into the emotion she must have seen.

They continued their staring match until they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Startled, Hermione's gaze turned to the figure in the door way she was clearly a beautiful woman and Hermione felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. She knew she wasn't beautiful but she'd always felt she had a pretty face, this woman, however made her feel inferior in some way. She had wondered who the professor would bring back to try and psychoanalyse her and she had hoped it would be someone like herself. She wanted someone who she could relate to, and she felt she would never be able to talk freely to someone so different to her. That was until the woman spoke.

"Hello, dear. Allow me to introduce myself I'm Araia." Her voice was warm and instantly made Hermione feel as if Araia really wanted to talk to her and she was not just there because Professor Snape had asked her to baby sit.

"Urm..Hi I guess. " Hermione had no idea what to say. So she decided to start with a basic introduction as she wouldn't put it past Snape to forget to mention who she was. "I'm Hermione Granger" she felt like a first year standing there in front of Professor Snape and Araia. She was always uncomfortable meeting new people and this was the type of situation she would have avoided at all costs.

"Lovely to meet you dear." she turned to Severus "Out" she said pointing to the door "Hermione and I are going to have a little chat and I for one do not want you grouching around in the corner. Now go and get some food and come back in a few hours." Her voice was stern but there was a 

playfulness to it, her eyes clearly showed her amusement at the look of pure shock on Severus's face before he turned and walked out of the room, robes billowing behind him.

"That was brilliant." As soon as Snape had left the room Hermione burst into laughter, she was still clutching her stomach when Araia walked over from closing the door to take the other arm chair.

"He always was such a moody boy" she sounded amused now, "but we're not here to gossip about Sev's faults, we're here to talk about you and your new life." Her voice was still soft but it had an edge that made Hermione feel that there was no getting away, she knew she was going to have to talk and she felt surprisingly ok with that. Her crying this afternoon had severed to cleanse her emotions, it had felt good to let it out and she was feeling better though she was not sure if she could put a name to what she was feeling.

"I'm sorry you got dragged out here to deal with me. But I am grateful to have someone to talk to. "

"Nonsense child, I'm more than willing to offer any support I can"

"It's all so strange, this whole new world I've been thrown into but all I've seen of it is this room and Professor Snape. I'm dying to see everything but at the same time I'm terrified on what I've become. My whole worlds changed and I don't know where I fit in." Hermione was startled to hear the words spilling out her mouth, she had not realised how alone she was until she had begun to think about what she had lost. Thinking about Harry and Ron was not so hard yesterday but now, after seeing herself change she was starting to understand the things she had lost. Her parents and her friends were not going to look at her in the same way anymore, no matter what she did she was a different person now and she didn't know if she could fill the same roll she used to, and if she couldn't she didn't know where she was going to fit.

"Maybe it's time to let go of who you were and become who you are. We all change as we grow, you're not the same person you were when you were five and you won't be the same as you are now when you're fifty. " Hermione thought that Araia was about forty but the weight that that statement carried made her wonder. Araia sounded like she was talking from experience.

"Araia can I ask you a personal question?" Hermione didn't want to offend the kind woman by asking her age and she had no knowledge of what was considered rude in vampire society but her parents had taught her not to ask personal questions without permission.

"You want to know how old I am" at Hermione look of panic Araia added "don't worry, it's perfectly ok to ask, and it's a common question in our society what with everybody looking as they did at fifty. I'm 460 this year. " Hermione had to stifle a gasp at this, she knew that age had no meaning to vampires but, like with so many things she had not applied this knowledge to her own situation until now. As long as she kept out of the violence of the war she was going to live forever. As if she could read Hermione's thoughts Araia added "It is a curse as much as blessing. When the gods cursed the men that became the five they considered it the worst punishment possible. We live in the shadows and watch all the we love die while we remain, it's the main reason we do not mix with humans. 

Everybody dies in the end child, no matter who they are or what they achieve, everybody dies except us. " silence followed that statement as each were lost in thoughts of loved ones, Araia was able to look back on her family with pride and love but Hermione was struggling with the terrible weight that her new life carried.

Tears spilled over her black eyes as she struggled to control her emotions. "The day I was turned was the last time I saw my family"Araia felt as though Hermione needed to hear that she was not alone in her suffering. She felt the best way to do that was to tell her story. "It was August of 1548 and I was a young girl, I was in Dublin with my mother and sister for a week to see the new seasons' fashions. My sister Jenna was twenty and I was seventeen. We had such a wonderful time, on the second evening I met the most enchanting gentleman called Nichkoli. We met at a ball on Lady Acworth's town house; we danced the together the whole night. " As she spoke she got a far away look in her eyes, she was re-living the memories. "He asked me to take a turn in the gardens; I remember kissing my mother on the cheek and receiving a wink from my sister. When we got out of sight of the house, we stopped next to the most beautiful daisies I'd ever seen. They had soft white petals and the most vibrant yellow centres. I was admiring the flowers when I felt Nichkoli's strong body behind me; his fingers were stroking my neck. " her voice became ragged and for a moment she sounded every one of her 450 years. Hermione was so caught up in the moment that she did here the door enter, she only realised that someone else had entered until she heard a deep voice from behind her.

"And they lived happily ever after" Araia turned and her whole face lit up when she saw him. The man walked over and knelt down next to her arm chair and took her hand.

"Hermione this is Nichkoli the man I was telling you about." Hermione's face portrayed her shock; she was expecting a tragic ending to Araia's story not the couple who were gazing lovingly at each other on front of the fire. "You see child, this worlds not so bad, you just have to find the right person to share it with." Araia meant this to be a comforting thought but to Hermione it was like the final nail in the coffin. No one was ever going to want to spend eternity with her and she would never find someone she loved that much. She spend the next two hours trying to convince Araia of this but the old woman was adamant that she would find her soul mate in the end. She said that when you find that person you'll see the blessing within our curse. I knew from the moment I lasi eyes of Nickoli he was the one and you'll find your special person, maybe even sooner that you think. When hermnioe asked what she ment Araia just smiled and chaged the subject. They sat like that all night, the three of them and Hermione was able to talk about her fears.

When Severus re-entered the room the look in his eyes was all the evidence Araia needed. She was convinced that it was just a matter of time.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next two weeks held a lot more talks with Araia and Nichkoli and they had eased Hermione's fears to a certain extend though she doubted she would ever be able to let go of them completely. It turned out that Nichkoli was a very kind and loving man, something she would never had associated with the word vampire. He was a tall man with light blond hair; and the black eyes of Caveat, before he had been turned they were brilliant blue. He was originally from Russia but had spent hundreds of years travelling before he met Araia. When she had herd their story Hermione had assumed that he was a bully, taking advantage of a young girl, but after spending time talking to him she could see that although he had done unspeakable things he truly loved Araia. For Hermione this was like a beacon cutting through the darkness, warming her heart and touching her soul. Even though she knew others in the clan would not be as open to her questioning she was eager to see how the clan functioned.

She was ready to begin to embrace the positive aspects vampirism and she wanted Severus to help her. They had not seen much of each other over the last two week and as strange as it seemed she had missed his dark humour and sarcastic whit. He was her link to the world outside her little room, she was not allowed out yet as she was still not confident on what to do when faced with other members of the clan. She could picture Harry and Ron's faces when she told them that Severus Snape had become one of the most important people in her life.

Before coming here Severus was just a professor who hated Gryffindor and gave detention for breathing too loud in his classes. She had never given thought to why he was the way he was, only accepted it and avoided him at all costs. When she had awoken to see him standing in the doorway she had been wary of him, confused by his presence at her bedside and added to the shock of waking up in a strange room she was scared of him. Now, however she looked at him as a mentor, a reminder of her past. She knew she couldn't call him a friend but she hoped someday they would be able to have a more equal relationship after all she still addressed him as Sir or Professor, nevertheless she couldn't see that changing anytime soon.

She had not been allowed to change into her vampire form again as Nichkoli had told her that when Calatios had been told of her extraordinary control of her demon he had asked for her to remain in human guise until she could be brought before him. It seemed that as she was such an unknown commodity he wanted to be present to observe her change. This meant she had not been able to do any magic; it was unknown how her demon would react to the power of her magic. This was made even volatile by the fact that she was a very powerful witch. It was almost unheard of for a witch or wizard to be turned into a vampire as it was wizards who defeated the original five. The defeat of the most powerful vampires lead to vampires being wary of magic and they tended to avoid it.

Just as she had become lost in her thought of ancient wars and greedy men there was a knock at the door, as she left the chair to answer Hermione noticed that all the stiffness in her muscles was gone, her joints no longer ached. The side – effects of her 'death' were passed. This in itself was a big thing for her as she knew now that she was ready to be introduced to the clan. As she opened the door her face was transformed by her first real smile in weeks.

Severus had spent the last two weeks drinking. The sweet firewiskey was his only escape from the horrors of his unlife. He had been involved in two wars for the better part of thirty years and the things he had seen and done weighed heavily on his mind. This was exactly why he never kept still long enough to think, thinking lead to pain, so on the rare occasion that he had nothing to occupy his days he drank. He was content with leaving behind the pain for a few hours; the thick haze of alcohol blurred his thoughts leaving him with peace. Alas, he thought to himself as he stood at Hermione's door, the peace soon abated leaving him hung-over and even more miserable than when he began.

The smile on Hermione's face only increased when she saw Severus.

"Has Araia driven you insane?" He sneered, gesturing towards her face.

"Why, can't I just be happy to see you?" Her voice was sweet and playful due to her good mood.

"Who are you and what have you done with Miss Granger?" Severus's voice clearly showed his shock at the boldness of the girl. What had happen to the scared, crying girl he had left two weeks ago. Even the few times he had visited her she had not been like this. She was so happy, he was ashamed by the jealousy that crept up from somewhere inside him as her looked at the bright eyes and glowing smile. How was it that her life had changed forever and she looked like that and he couldn't find happiness in the life he'd lead for years?

"I'm sorry sir" she said, still smiling at him "I feel just like my old self again today. I can move and walk without pain and Araia told me once that happened I would be able to leave the room. Can I sir, I'm so bored stuck in this room ." Even though she did not need to breath and could have continued with her speech for ages she decided to leave the decision with him. She could always argue if he denied her.

It turned out that her presence was required today anyway but she refused to let that ruin her good mood. As they walked down the maze of corridors Hermione was amazed by the size of the house. Despite what she had been told about the clan and their wealth she had not expected such grandeur, it really was breathtaking. When she told Snape this his lips tuned up into something that could resemble a simile and he had proceed to tell her about the renovations and changes the clan had made to the house. He seemed almost friendly and she was so lost in his tales of the past that she didn't notice how far they had walked until they stopped in front of the most impressive door Hermione had ever seen. She felt insignificant standing there in the floor length purple dress Araia had given her that suddenly felt very plain. It had a dark purple corset and floor length lilac skirt, a simple gothic style dress but it had made Hermione feel like a princess. Standing in front of the stone doors she felt a shiver run down her spine, as she read the words carved into the great oak door way she got a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, it was something that she would never be able to put words to, something inside her shifted; it felt right. The words were imprinted on her mind "Crasamet qui nunquam amavit;Quique amavit, cras amet" but her knowledge of Latin was not extensive enough to make sense of the complex saying. She was still trying to decode the message when Severus, sensing her struggle, lend down and whispered in her ear,

"It's Latin, a testament to our tendencies to waste our time. It means; May he love tomorrow who has never loved before; and may he who has loved, love tomorrow as well."

If it was any other moment Hermione would have blushed at the sensuality of Severus whispering in her ear, such an intimate gesture for a man that kept everybody at arms length but she was so consumed by the weight of the words she was oblivious to everything happening around her. Including the heavy stone doors being pulled open revealing a hall four times the size of Hogwarts's decorated in rich shades of red and blue. The solid oak beams that supported the ceiling were exposed adding to the character of the room and creating a stark contrast to the amazing black marble floor. The walls were lined with ancient tapestries depicting the history of the clan and telling stories that would otherwise have been forgotten. As the doors opened the music that had been playing stopped, a hundred pairs of bottomless black eyes tuned to catch a glimpse of the girl who had fuelled the rumour mill for weeks.

Hermione was startled from her retrieve by Severus putting his hands on her arm and indicating that they needed to move forwards into the room.

She could feel the eyes following her from all directions, but she managed to keep her head up and her eyes focused on their destination.

The two thrones that sat at the far end of the hall, one made of silver the other of gold yet they were placed next to each other in an attempt to show equality between the people who sat upon them. Arianna and Calatios sat side by side, both dressed in white silk. They wore no shoes, no one did it was one of the traditions that they followed and though Hermione didn't understand the tradition the feeling of walking around in bare feet was very liberating.

Calatios had a trouser and shirt combination, they were plain yet held and understated beauty. His long grey hair shimmered in the flickering candlelight and his sallow skin looked unnaturally pale but it fitted his persona perfectly, despite what Severus had told her of his kindness he looked to her every bit the vampire lord. Arianna was almost opposite him in looks, she had luscious red hair and dark skin. There was no doubt that she was stunning, her beauty was that of a rose, strong and flawless with a sharper thorny side hidden underneath. Her dress was full length, sweeping the ground around her bare feet; it was very simple, framing her figure perfectly with a simple pattern around her bust in sliver thread. Despite their obvious contrasts they complemented each other perfectly.

Hermione had been instructed to go down on one knee before the thrones so when she and Severus reached it they both lowered themselves and bowed their heads in acknowledgement of their place in the clan and also in a show of respect for their leaders. When they rose they were standing under the scrutiny of Calatios's gaze.

"So this is the girl I've heard so much about" Calatios's voice fit his character perfectly, a deep regal texture and a proper English accent exuded power and confidence.

"It is, Hermione Granger, my lord." Severus spoke to Calatios with the same respectful tone he showed Albus Dumbledore.

"A pleasure my dear, it is always nice to have a new addition to my family. You'll forgive my hesitance at allowing you to experiment with your abilities without my presence." For a moment she thought he was testing her but she just put it down to nerves.

"Of course, I must admit I would feel safer with someone with experience in these matters to help me." Hermione thought it was best to agree with his decision but she couldn't help but feel disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to make her own decisions. She had always hated being told what to do and it seemed she was going to have to get used it.

"I believe that after our gathering tonight we could adjourn to one of the training rooms to begin our journey of discovery. After all you could be a great asset to our clan. " his word was final, when he had finished speaking the music started up again and the room burst into life. Hermione wondered how it was possible for people who were technically dead to have more lust for life than Hogwarts students.

After about an hour of being introduced to various people Severus could see that Hermione was becoming tired of all the attention. From what he remembered of her form Hogwarts he knew that she tended to be in the background, the brains of the group, the most important part of any of the golden trio's hell brained plans, but she was always smart enough to let others go first. She had the heart of a Gryffindor of that he was certain but sometimes he could see Slytherin traits in her behaviour.

"Would you care to dance Miss Granger?" the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Hermione was grateful to Severus for giving her a chance to escape from all the questions but just as she opened her mouth to thank him he pulled her to him. She could've sworn he pulled her closer than was strictly necessary and she really didn't mind. He smelt of pinewood and potions and it was intoxicating, invading her senses and making her long for the right to run her hands through his dark hair. His body was toned and she could imagine him hiding a great figure under all those robes.

As they moved around the dance floor they paid no notice to the people who stopped to watch the odd couple. They moved perfectly together, the waltz looked effortless and the emotion it provoked was truly special.

From across the room one person was paying special attention to the couple. Araia was delighted to see that her huch was right; they would be perfect for each other. Although she did not know what it was going to take to get them to see it.

Severus was not able to name the feeling he got when Hermione had agreed to dance with him, no one ever wanted to dance with him. he couldn't help but feel protective of her she was his student he would be the same for any of them, or at least he had convinced himself this was the case until he imagined him in the same situation with Potter, he would have refused to even help the boy let alone want to protect them. This was ridiculous his feeling were not important he had a job to do and he wasn't going to let himself feel something for the annoying girl who would leave him at the first chance she got. Even with this new resolve he could not help the sense of peace that washed over him as he held her small body in his arms.

As the night drew to a close Hermione was still re-living the dance she and Severus had shared. Although she had danced with a lot of the males in the room no one made her heart flutter like him. They had been in the hall for over three hours when people began to leave. When one of Calatios's personal guards tried to escort her into another room she had clung to Severus's arm refusing to go unless he was allowed to come to. She wanted him there because despite all his threats and comments she knew he would never let any harm come to her, she needed him to help her through this strange world. She needed him more than she had ever needed anyone.

The room they found themselves in was about the same size as her bedroom, it was covered in from floor to ceiling in soft padding making it ideal for what they were about to do.

Calatios was waiting for them, as were two other people dressed head to toe in black. They were introduced as members of the Aranea. Opalite and Chalce were both skilled fighters used to training fledglings. They were both tall and trim with long blonde hair they were almost like twins.

Hermione was instructed to stand in the middle of the room as the others positioned themselves around the edges. If Calatios was surprised by Severus's presence he didn't comment. He struck Hermione as the type of person who waited for problems to arise rather than seeing them coming from a distance, he was aware of went on around him but the emotions were something he could not sense and relied on Arianna to interpret.

As Hermione began to change she felt the same changes occur to her body but she also felt something change in her mind. She was suddenly aware of everything that was going on around her, if someone was to move in the room next to theirs she would hear it. The air felt thinker as if she 

could sense the emotions that filled it. All over the house she could smell the metallic smell of blood. Something was happening blow them, there was fear and panic radiating up through the floor, lust and hunger filling the air as the small of blood increased. She could see the others watching her, waiting to see what she would do. thet seemed shocked by her behavoiur but she didn't care, it felt natural to her.

The atmosphere in the room was tense and Hermione longed to see what was going on in the basement below. As she focused on the floor a bright blue light surrounded her, cutting through the floor to revel the horrors that took place below.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- sorry this is so short but I've had family staying with me this week, I'm getting my GCSE results tomorrow(nerves are overtaking my brain) so I'm not going to be able to update until at least Tuesday when my family leave. Next chapter is the reactions and hermione's first order meeting.

**Warning- this chapter contains sex and violence. If you don't like it then don't read. You have been warned!**

Chapter 4 - Survival Instincts

As Hermione stood staring down into the room she was overwhelmed by the smell of blood. It was everywhere, filling the room with its enticing fragrance. During the time she had been at the house she had eaten normal food but now that her change was complete she was consumed by blood lust.

From across the room Severus was watching Hermione, he knew that the urge for blood was strong but to invoke her magic to gain what she wanted was an extraordinary ability. If it could be homed to track enemies it would save days of hard work. Her magic was obviously boosted by her demon; it was a relief to see as there had been major concerns that her demon would not recognise the magic as part of her and attempt to destroy it; destroying Hermione in the process.

The room Hermione had uncovered looked to her like some sort of medieval torture chamber, at one end there was a cage that looked capable of holding a hundred people at once. At the moment in was home to about twenty. The middle of the room had two wooden tables; they would have looked like the kitchen table in her parent's house if it wasn't for the blood stains that stained the wood. The deep red liquid was everywhere, dripping from the ceiling, forming puddles on the rough stone floor.

The room was lit by huge chandeliers that hung from the ceiling; the candlelight flickered around the room. Shadows dancing on the walls and reflecting off the bars of the cage creating an eerily beautiful ambiance in a room that held many terrible secrets. Hermione did not need to be the brightest witch of her age to work out what this room was used for. A month ago the very idea of murder sent shivers down her spine, the things she had witnessed in films had always given her nightmares. But now it seemed natural to her, killing suddenly didn't seem so bad. If she was not blinded by hunger that though would have sent Hermione back to the emotional train wreck she had been.

As it was she descended into the room, bare feet landing with a soft splash in a pool of blood. The hole Hermione had created in the ceiling of the dungeon was in a corner. On the opposite wall she could see the outlines of a door. Even from her position Hermione's enhanced senses meant she could hear the soft base line of music, feel the presence of other vampires and most of all taste the blood in the air.

Severus knew what was happening behind the door and he wondered if it was a good idea to expose Hermione to it. He remembered her reaction to her change, letting her see the darker pleasures vampires experienced may put them right back to square one. Just as he was about to step into the room and stop her Calatios motioned for Opalite and Chalce to leave the room. Their faces remained stoic but Severus could see their eyes light up as they left to join the party going on downstairs. As they were leaving Calatios, who was now in the dungeon room, whispered to Hermione

"Take a look my dear. The blood calls to you, you must obey." his voice was so soft it could have been mistake for a draft. But Hermione had caught the message him and fully intended to take his advice. Walking towards the room she had the feeling that there would be no turning back after this. She didn't know where that knowledge came from but she was she this was wanted, to live this life forever.

As Hermione entered the room Severus was resigned to the fact that he was going to have put up with her for a lot longer than he had originally planned. He was so sure that she would be disgusted by the behaviour of the clan that she would vow never to set foot inside the house again, so he was left speechless when she entered the room with a look of fascination on her face as she saw for the first time what vampires do to survive.

The smell of various bodily fluids assaulted her sensitive nose; the room reminded her from the scene of a porn video she and Ginny Weasley had 'borrowed' from one of her brothers last year. There were people everywhere, naked and engaging in the roughest sex she had ever seen. Hermione was no virgin and had always like the more perverse side of sex but she had no experience in dealing with the combination of alcohol, blood and lust that was displayed in front of her in one big sticky mess. Calatios was behind her, gently putting pressure on her back trying to lead her in to the room. As he did so she suddenly panicked looking around for Severus, who was about three meters away, running over to him she clung to hand allowing him to lead her back to the door.

Severus did not know why he allowed the girl to hold his hand as he lead her to the door way. She had obviously panicked, Calatios had tried to force her further, eager to have someone as powerful as he in his clan, and Severus knew from experience that it was best to let her move at her own pace. So that is what he did, standing behind her letting her seek comfort from holding his hand, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring look he motioned for her to proceed him into the room.

Hermione was feeling much better with Severus close to her; she was comfortable to walk into the room stepping around a woman who was friendly sucking on the bleeding wound of another woman. She knew all these people were vampires as they were the same people she had been introduced to earlier in the posh hall when they had all been wearing posh dresses, now she was seeing the other side of the people she now called family. She felt Severus pull away a little bit and she immediately felt exposed and vulnerable. Luckily he was back by her side in a matter of seconds.

When he had seen her distracted Severus had decided to take a chance, bending down he drew his middle finger through a small pool of blood on the floor. After sniffing it to make sure it was blood only she stepped back to Hermione who was still clinging to his hand. He held out his bloody finger to her. She smelt it leaning closer she was almost touching it when suddenly her pink tongue darted out liking the blood off his finger and drawing into her hot mouth. Severus didn't know what to do, her tongue was swirling around his finger in a very provocative way, he imagined his finger was covered with her juices as she was licking him clean after a passionate encounter, he saw he hot mouth wrapped around his huge cock, he felt a stirring in his groin that put an abrupt end to his thoughts. She was just an annoying child he told himself but no matter how many times he repeated it he could not get images of Hermione Granger sucking him off to stop playing in his mind.

Hermione was in heaven, the blood tasted like liquid gold. Warming her insides, making every nerve in her body tingle. It wasn't until all the blood was gone that she noticed she had Professor Snape's finger in her mouth. She dared to glance up at his face expecting to see anger no the lustful eyes she was net with. The warm feelings created by the blood were replaced by lust for the man that had once been her professor. She looked away chanting the word "professor " to herself, but all it served to do was create images of her bend over the workbench in the potions classroom with him thrusting into her from behind.

Calatios had noticed the moment shared between Severus and Hermione, he was glad that the boy had finally found someone who could, in time, be his equal. It had been so long since Severus had some joy in his life and Calatios new that he was responsible for most of the boy's pain. Though he did not feel guilt for his actions he had always tried to make sure Severus was cared for. Albus Dumbledore had been a big help to Calatios, letting Severus go to school, taking him on as a spy and most of all giving him the love of the Farther the lonely dark haired man had never had. Having had enough of his musing he picked up three goblets of blood and took them over to the couple.

Hermione found it strange that they put the blood into goblets when they quite obviously didn't mind eating it off the floor, and each other. The fact that this was the only thing she found strange about her situation just showed how natural it all was to her. The blood she was drinking tasted to her lke water to a human; it gave strength and life to her body and mind. Something she knew was going to come in very useful at some point in the future.

She did not want to engage in any of the sexual activity going on; she was content to stand next to Severus in the middle of the room and watch. She did not look on it as one would look at a porn movie she was simply curious about the way in which vampires interacted. Calatios had disappeared with Adrianna sometime ago and after about two hours of the party she could feel the dawn closing in. Just as she had thought that the music stopped and people began to leave. Most left in pairs or groups of three of four all looking to continue their fun in the privacy of their rooms. Hermione was disappointed that it was over so quickly, but her demon had been sated by the blood she had drunk making her tired. Her sense had returned to their original levels and her face was normal again.

Hermione had not yet let go of Severus's hand, she allowed him to lead her out of one of the four doors located around the room, and she guessed they all lead to different wings of the house. She had no idea how to get back to her room after all she had dropped in through the ceiling. But she trusted Severus to get her home safely. "Funny" she thought as they walked "when did I start referring to this place as home?"

When they reached the corridor her room was located on Hermione stumbled, her lethargic muscled refusing to take another step. She was about to hit the fool when she felt a pair of strong arm grasp her. Severus Snape was carrying her to her door.

Severus had felt her falter beside him. Taking her into his arms before his brain had a chance to talk him out of it. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. He took slower steps to her room, wanting to hold her perfect body just a little longer. He was disappointed when they reached her door only to look down and find Hermione sound asleep.

He didn't know what to do, he had never been in this situation before, it was romantic he realised and when the feeing of disgust did not come he realised that he was content. This girl made him more content by allowing him to hold her than anyone he'd ever been with in his life.

He decided that he didn't want to wake her, so he carried her in to her bed. He laid her down with a softness her didn't think he possessed. As he moved to take his arms off her, she opened her eyes, "Stay with me" she muttered before pulling him to her with surprising strength. She proceeded to wrap her arms and legs around his and resting her head on his chest. Her hair tickled the bottom of his nose as the lay stiffly under her. Did she realise she had just done something that on woman had ever done. Human or vampire they never wanted to cuddle with him, after sex he just got up and left having never had the inclination to stay. But now laying in the most innocent fashion on top of the bed with Hermione curled up around him he felt peace. He remembered the feeling he had gotten from dancing with her earlier in the evening, she had fit perfectly in his arms. If this was what true peace felt like he wanted it forever.

He was just drifting off to sleep when he realised that he wanted Hermione Granger to stay with him forever, he was falling for her and it terrified him.

They slept for the whole day; the pull of the night was the only thing that woke Hermione from her slumber. She felt safe with Severus's arms around her; one hand buried in her hair the other gripping her waist. She was startled to realise that he was holding her like a baby while he slept. As she turned to look at his face she was amazed by the beauty of it. His face was smooth; no frown lines to make him look older, his lips were turned up in a small smile. She had never seen anything as beautiful as he looked right then, holding her while he slept. She didn't want to wake him but she had a strong hunger inside her. She needed blood, the first taste she had had the previous night was enough to get her hooked.

The feeling it gave was out of this world, life filled her dead body. She had know the vampires drank blood to nourish their demons but she had assumed that it would be like eating food, not having any noticeable effects on the body; she was wrong.

She let out a small growl as the hunger increased, was this what it was going to be like every morning?

Severus was a woken by the small growl omitted by the young girl he had in his arms. H knew exactly what was wrong, she was hungry. Slowly he opened his eyes, relishing the feeling of her body as he was sure she would never let him touch her again.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain through his arm, looking down he saw the most erotic sight he had ever seen.

When she had felt him shift as he awoke Hermione had seen the vein on his arm pulse. That sight made her demon go crazy, she bit into his smooth flesh and began to drink. He blood tasted sweet, like chocolate and Hermione was perfectly happy to drink for as long as he allowed her.

As she drank Hermione was aware of his state of arousal but she was unsure of what to do about it; she decided to let him deal with the problem. She knew he would be mad with her for drinking from him and she didn't want to add to his rage.

He was mortified; he knew she had felt his arousal. He should've controlled himself better, she was his charge no one a Knockturn Alley whore. She was only doing what came naturally to her. He felt like he was taking advantage of her especially when she said.

"Professor Snape, are you awake?"

"I think you can call me Severus now Miss Granger" how she could call him professor after they had had slept in the same bed he would never know but it was inappropriate and had to stop,

"I'll take that as a yes." Hermione responded in a playful voice that caused Severus to get out of the bed and begin to pace around the room. She didn't know why he was so nervous, nothing had happened and as much as she wanted it to she knew it he would never allow anything to happen between them.

As he left the room he heard Hermione shout after him "The names Hermione!" A deep chuckle erupted from his throat.

XXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hermione had been at the house for nine weeks when the letter came from Dumbledore. It was time for Severus to return to Hogwarts, they needed a potions master and he had already been away for the whole summer. Hermione was just beginning to panic over not having him around when Severus told her that Harry and Ron were living at the school for protection and Dumbledore wanted her there as well.

The last four weeks had been a mixture of physical and mental training for Hermione. After the morning that they had woken up together Hermione and Severus had become great friends, something neither thought possible. They were rarely seen without each other, they had not, however shared a bed again.

Her mind went back to an afternoon about 2 weeks ago when she had received a letter from her parents. They had been informed of the situation by Dumbledore; she would remember the words of that letter for the rest of her unlife.

_Dear Hermione_

_We have had a most upsetting meeting with Albus this afternoon. I must say your farther and I were horrified to hear what has happened to you, we feel that it would be best if you didn't come home. This is not because we don't love you, we do, and it's just that we cannot accept what has been done to you. _

_We don't know you anymore Hermione and we haven't since you joined that school. We know you cannot give up your life, it's who you are and we would like to remain a part of that. We feel it's safer for us to only communicate by owl._

_Mum._

Severus had walked into her room to find her curled up on the floor sobbing. Once he had read the letter he gathered her in his arms and held her until she had stopped crying. She had been embarrassed by her emotions but he had brushed it off, saying it was better out than in.

It was that afternoon that she realised how much she relied on Severus, he picked up when she feel down, encouraged her and held her hand when she was scared. She had been to many more parties like the one in the basement and was now quite used to seeing varying forms of bondage and sex all around her, yet she never participated. She and Severus stood at the side and watched.

Another way in which she relied on Severus was for blood, she only drank from him. She did not know why but her body seemed to reject nourishment all other sources when they had told Calatios he had chalked it up to her unusual heritage. The same heritage had given her extraordinary fighting abilities, she had taken a whole, host of vampires from the clan and none were a match for her. She had only fought Severus once; he was a formidable opponent and had almost equalled her. He had sad it was only his experience that had stopped him being beaten in the first minuet.

They had spent long nights discussing philosophy and science, his intelligence matched her own and thy often ended up in heated debates over complex theories that no-one around them could understand. They talked about the wars that they were part of, her fears and ambitions. There was only one subject they never touched and that was his past. She knew nothing of his life before he had turned to teaching; she was curious but respectful enough to keep her questions at bay not wanting to ruin their new found friendship.

Now, as they prepared to make their way to Hogwarts Hermione realised that she would miss the old house. It was her home in a way that no other place had ever been. She had grown so much and changed from a girl into a young woman in the time she had been there. Her appearance had changes, her hair was longer and remained straight, she had toned up her body was now strong and her reflexes razor sharp. She walked with confidence, not showing any signs of weakness.

They were going to apperate to Hogsmead and as the entered the entrance hall of the house they found it full of people. Hermione spent an hour reassuring people that she would be ok and saying goodbye,

The most emotional moment was saying goodbye to Araia, the old woman had become a mother figure to her and she would dearly miss her. Hermione had just begun to cry when Severus and Nichkoli came up behind them. Each wrapping an arm round their partner; it was funny how natural it was to see Severus Snape holding a Gryffindor as she cried. But he had never felt anything like the feeling he got from Hermione, she completed him in a way he never thought anyone could. He had not wanted anyone to care about him and he a certainly never wanted to care about anyone else but the stubborn girl had gotten under his skin and wormed her way into his cold heart.

Calatios was polite, wishing her the best and assuring her that her room would be kept for her. He said he expected her to spend all hallows eve with the clan. It took he a moment to realise he meant Halloween but once she had gladly agreed to spend it at the house.

With one last look at the old house they disapperated with a loud crack.

Seeing the castle in the distance made Hermione stomach jump, she grabbed Severus's hand wordlessly telling him of her nerves. They had had long talk the previous day in witch Hermione had told him of her worries over people's reactions to her change. The boys had both been told of her new status but she had had no contact with anyone. The order had also been informed and had invites Hermione to join along with Harry and Ron. It was a great honour though Severus had scoffed and muttered about Gryffindor fools and crazy old men when she had told him that.

"It looks the same as ever" Hermione said with amusement in her voice.

"What were you expecting; it's looked like that for over a thousand years." Severus was equally amused at her reaction.

"I don't know, I guess it's because I've changed do much. I was expecting everything else to have changed to."

He just laughed and squeezed her hand. He was dressed in his usual black teaching robes. She had gotten used to the shirt and trousers he had worm at the house, he looked do uncomfortable in the constricting robes. He said it was all part of his act for the students but she had a feeling it was his way of protecting himself from the world.

One thing she did know about Severus was that he could walk outside in the daylight, his mother was human and this was the trait he got from her. However it was uncomfortable and after about three hours it became painful hence the dungeons and dark classrooms. Hermione shivered at the thought of staying in Gryffindor tower but luckily all order members had there own quarters in the inner dungeons that no students could get to.

When the headquarters had moved to the school it had been decided that the dungeons were the best place. The outer dungeons were cold and unwelcoming ensuring that only Slytherin students ventured down there and the inner dungeons could only be accessed thorough a door from the staff room. She had been told by Severus that she would find her quarters suited for her needs there were no windows and not a chance of sunlight getting in.

It was about eleven at night when Severus and Hermione arrived at the castle door, the walk from Hogsmead had taken about half an hour and they had pent it chatting about this and that, wanting to avoid serious conversations they both new there would be a lot of questions when they arrived.

"Hermione" the excited shout from Ginny Weasley came from across the hall, now an order member living at the castle, as she saw Hermione enter the great hall. Her enthusiasm was stunted when she saw Severus. Sure, they had been told that he had been helping Hermione but it was different when it was actually in front of them. She needn't have worried though as Severus took of for the dungeons immediately, he had already informed Hermione that he had no desire hang around but that she was most welcome in his quarters whenever she wanted.

"How are you? Where have you been? What happened? " the youngest Weasley fired off questions so quickly that Hermione didn't know where to begin.

She was just about to answer when she heard a shout from behind her "Ginny stay away". Ron came running over to the girls and stood between Hermione and Ginny.

"Ron don't be an idiot." Ginny pushed her brother out of the way and turned to face Hermione. "You're not going to hurt me, are you Hermione?" from her tone of voice it was clear the question was rhetorical but Hermione felt she should answer anyway.

"NO." she almost shouted "I'm not a monster. I can control myself, I'm not the same person I was but I'm still me." she hoped that was enough to satisfy Ron for now.

"I'm sorry Hermione, its just that I've heard awful things about vampires and I just cannot accept that you are one now. You're not my Hermione anymore. How are we supposed to get married if you're a vampire?" Ron appeared completely oblivious to the fury on Hermione's face as he looked at her with a big smile.

"I was never yours Ron. I don't want to get married. I'm my own person and I could never belong to someone. Can you imagine me barefoot and pregnant? I do not want to turn into your mother!" she turned and stormed off towards the dungeons.

Severus was restless, his quarters were too quiet. He couldn't concentrate he felt like part of him was missing. He tired not to think about it, he knew what was wrong but he didn't want to admit that he needed her. He'd never needed anyone and it was a weakness he couldn't afford.

He was startled out of his retrieve by a forceful knock on his heavy oak door.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - THANKYOU to everyone who reviewed. I'm starting college next week so I'm not going to be able to update as often as I would like. I will DEFINATLY update on Mondays and hopefully Fridays as well if I have time.

Chapter 5- Old faces and new dimensions

As Severus sat on his armchair slowly rocking the now sleeping Hermione in his arms he was silently plotting ways to kill the Weasley boy. When Hermione had come to him in tears earlier he had been ready to rip him apart limb form limb but one look at her pleading eyes and he had crumbled. Gathering her in his arms, sitting in his comfy old armchair rocking the trembling girl in his arms, he felt a strong sense of clam wash over him. He had never associated words in a book to real life situations until now; he had read about love and happiness but never experienced it.

She had been incoherent when she had arrived, but when she had told him what had happened with the Weasley boy he had felt the sorrow seeping from her in waves. It was like he could feel her pain, he hated it, the pure anguish in her sobs had made his eyes fill with tears; Severus Snape had not cried in over twenty years, after all he had seen and done it was this girl that weakened the iron clad control he had over his emotions. He finally gave in and spent the next hour sitting, hugging Hermione close to him, with tears of silent suffering streaming sown his face.

She stayed with him all evening; the sun was just beginning to take over from the night when Hermione awoke. As she turned to look at him her eyes were red and her mascara had run the shadows left by her tears marked her perfect skin; she had never looked more beautiful to him. He had not realised he was staring at her until she had spoken.

"Do I have something on my face?" she had said in an effort to lighten the mood. However her voice came out so weak that it only served as a reminder of her afternoons activates. She noticed the tear tracks on his face but said nothing knowing that he would be embarrassed and not wanting the moment to end.

"No, I was just wondering whether to wake you for the meeting or not." he lied smoothly but it didn't fool Hermione who knew he would not have woken her if Voldemort himself had decided to storm the castle. He would have let her sleep, being to caring to wake her until he had to.

She sighed audibly as she left his lap, as she stood she got the chance to have a good look at his chambers. She had never seen them before and she thought they matched his personality perfectly. The cold grey stone walls were complemented by a warm red carpet. Underneath the harsh, impersonal feel of the room was a warm comfort that she could no where else.

His rooms consisted of four rooms, a bathroom, bedroom, office/library and a living room. Hermione had only seen the living room but she hoped the rest of his cambers gave her the same sense of security that this room did. She could not place the exact thing but there was something about his rooms that made her heart warm.

He had lots of oak furniture and the deep, rich wood looked antique. There was a beautifully crafted cabinet in an alcove next to the understated marble fireplace. It held some glasses and potion bottles but Hermione noticed that in the whole room there was not one photograph. There were his books and knick-knacks but no photographs.

He noticed her scrutiny and felt pleased at the look of approval that overtook her face. He was often reluctant to let people into his rooms as they were his sanctuary, his escape from the world and his home.

He could not say why he put so much weight in her opinions but somewhere in the back of his mind he could see them living together in these rooms. That scared him as he was sure someone like her could never want someone like him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"You IDIOT!!" Ginny was ready to kill Ron as she watched Hermione run out of the great hall. She knew her brother could be insensitive but that was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. She knew she wanted Hermione to be her sister-in-law but she also knew it would take more subtly than that. Hermione was an intelligent person and for some reason that she could not understand Ron loved her.

"What did he do?" Harry's voice carried over from the main doors where he had been barged out of the way by Hermione. He had been on his way to greet his best friend when he had heard raised voices in the hall. He had missed Hermione more than he had ever thought possible, Ron was great for talking about Qudditch but anything more serious and he didn't care. With Hermione Harry could talk about his worries and problems. Hermione had a knack of making him feel better no matter what the situation.

"He told Hermione that he couldn't marry her as she was a vampire." Ginny did an amazing impression of her mother.

"What? You and Hermione?" Harry was confused as he pictured the disaster that that relationship would be.

"Yes Harry, everyone knows that we'll end up together" Ron sounding almost comical. He was staring at Harry as though he could not believe anyone could not see that he and Hermione were meant for each other.

"But Ron, Hermione is smart and independent and you're looking for someone to become barefoot and pregnant. Surely you can see that it would be a disaster." Harry knew that Hermione would never want someone who was not on her intellectual level. He also knew that Ron would never be able to see it. The red head could be so blind to what was going on around him sometimes.

"Harry what's wrong with you? Of course they'll be together" Ginny could not see why anyone would question this. In her opinion it was a done deal, her mother supported the union and that was that; it had to happen.

"You're wrong. Ron, Hermione does not want to marry you and if you want to keep her friendship I would suggest you move on." With that Harry became the second person that day to storm from the hall that day. He could not stand to listen to another word, he would not convince them so he would just have to warn Hermione and wait for Ron to grow out of it.

Harry also became the second person to interrupt Severus's musings by hammering on his door. From what Hermione had told him he suspected that this was where she had run off to.

"Good afternoon Sir, is Hermione here?" Harry knew to remain respectful around Severus. Seven years of potions classes had taught him that much.

"Potter" the older man acknowledged "she is getting dressed" with that he shut the door in the face of a rather stunned Harry.

"Did I hear the door?" Hermione asked as she emerged from the wonderful bathroom. She had been surprised by the luxury spar bath and power shower that he had installed. The floor was marble and the taps were, in true slytherin form, sliver with green walls completing the look. She had enjoyed a wonderful hot shower, her body was unused to being awake at this hour and she was glad of the shock of the water to wake her up.

She was wearing a long lilac dress that framed her figure perfectly. Since becoming a vampire she had noticed her dress sense had changed. She no longer wore things for comfort like jeans instead she chose very beautiful dresses. She dressed much more elegantly than she had done like she knew she was important and wanted the whole world to know it. She had gotten the dresses from Araia, the old vampire had been overjoyed to help Hermione and as they had similar tastes it turned into a wonderful experience. Out with the old and in with the new was how Hermione looked at it.

"You did." he replied from his seat in the arm chair.

"Well" she demanded impatiently. Standing in the doorway that connected the bathroom to the living room.

"Well what?" he had the faintest hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

"Who was at the door?" she would have been irritated but she had noticed his mirth and knew he was enjoying the game.

"Potter, looking for you. Naturally I had to act like the big bad professor. I left him outside." he did not look remorseful in any way and Hermione marvelled again at how relaxed he was in her presence. When she had been his student she had wondered whether he knew how to joke and laugh and she was pleaded to find that he actually had a sense of humour all be it dark and sarcastic.

As she opened the door she found Harry staring blankly at the other side of it, a look of pure irritation etched on to his features. He could not believe that she looked do comfortable in the Professors home. However his faced changed into a look of pure joy when he saw her. She didn't realise just how much she had kissed him until she saw him standing there.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed as he encased her in a huge hug.

"How are you?" he asked as she gestured for him to come inside.

"I am very well Harry thank you." she mentally sighed at the thought of having to explain it all. It wasn't that she didn't want Harry to know she just wasn't looking forward to having to answer the questions that she knew everyone would have for her; she wasn't even sure she had answers to give them.

As the two reunited friends entered his chambers Severus could not help the stab of jealousy that pierced his heart. She looked so happy; soon she would be drawn back to her life, only coming to him for food, leaving him alone with his memories of her.

He was also not happy at Potter being in his private rooms but the more he thought about it the more he realised that Hermione was acting as though she lived their; inviting him in, getting him a drink, all the things the lady of the house would do. This thought filled him with hope, an unfamiliar emotion to Severus who never had anything to look forward to. He picked a book from the coffee table in beside his chair and became absorbed in the worn pages, occasionally glancing over at the two Gryffindors sitting opposite each other at his dining table across the room. The table was capable of seating six people but he could not remember a time when anyone other than himself had eaten there.

"So what did I miss?" Hermione started the conversation once they were settled. She had often wondered what was happening outside the Caveat house. She knew the kind of adventures that occurred and she wanted to be part of the latest quest. It was something that made her feel part of the group, until she had come to Hogwarts she had been the outsider, never really having any friends so now she wanted to experience everything that she had missed out on.

"Not much. We've spent the summer here at Hogwarts, its strange being here without the others. I've missed you Mia." Harry's eyes got a wistful look as he was filled with love for his days as a Hogwarts student, when the golden trio would spend their days together, before everything got so complicated.

"There must be something!" Hermione found it hard to believe that nothing had happened in her absence.

"Well there was one incident involving Fred and George. They had come to visit us here and of course couldn't resist the lure of trying out some new products. Professor Dumbledore's beard was bright blue for about three days after eating a contaminated lemon drop. " Harry and Hermione dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"What about you Hermione?" suddenly the playful atmosphere was gone. It was time for the conversation to take of a serious note and Hermione was not looking forward to it.

"Well as you know I was attacked at my parents home and turned into a Vampire" she was deliberately keeping the strictly as short and impersonal as possible "I woke up to find Professor Snape by my bedside and he has been helping me ever since. " I wasn't the complete truth but it wasn't exactly a lie either. Yet it still left her feeling bad, Harry told her everything and up until that day she did as well.

"Hermione your life had changed forever and that is all you have to say" Harry knew what she was doing and was not going to fall for it.

"Well I don't really know what to say. I mean, everything's changed and even though I'm ok with it now it hasn't been an easy journey. That's why I've not had any contact with you, I needed some time to adjust and learn about the culture and" she stopped as Harry had burst into another fit of laughter.

"I'm sorry" he managed to gasp "You're still you. No matter what the situation you always have to learn about it." Hermione allowed herself a smile at that, she had become so focused on how she had changed she had forgotten to look at what parts of her were the same. She was eternally grateful to Harry for showing her that she had retained some of the things that had defined her.

"You don't breath" Harry blurted out, noticing for the first time that Hermione was not gasping for breath after their laughing fit as he was. With that Hermione proceeded to tell Harry about what being a vampire meant. She left out the sexual aspects as she knew Harry was a virgin and uncomfortable about sex. She glossed over her need to feed from Severus just saying that it was something that had to be done. She did not mention how powerful she was as she hoped to keep her demon form concealed. She was not ashamed she just didn't want her friends to see her as a monster as she had once done herself.

When she had finished her tale Hermione was disappointed to see that Harry was shocked, in that moment she knew he would never understand. If this was his reaction to the censored version she didn't want to think about what would happen if he was exposed to the extremes of vampire culture. Still, she though, at least he's trying which was better than the others.

They were interrupted from their talk by Severus informing them that it was time for them to leave for the meeting. Hermione had forgotten about the meeting as she had been focused on Harry and trying not to think about her argument with Ron.

She had been shocked by his reaction to her return and downright disgusted by his assumption of marriage. She didn't love him and she never would and if that meant his friendship then so be it. Everyone had bigger things to worry about.

Harry led the way to the dungeon office as Hermione battled with her nerves. The dungeons were grey, that was the only word Hermione could think of, grey walls, grey atmosphere and they made her fell grey. The only splash of colour was the moss that was snaking its way down the corridor, like an ancient guide. She could feel Severus behind her, her bossy sensed him and it gave her a warming feeling. He could drive away anything that tried to harm her; he was powerful and lived down here for many years. Suddenly they came to a set of forbidding stone steps leading into a dark room. Their footsteps echoed and Harry's breath seemed amplified somehow. Hermione suddenly felt her demon try to break free and though she could control it she got the message it was trying to send; her senses would be stronger id she let it loose, so she did. The feeling was familiar to her now and she no longer felt inclined to call herself a monster, but she would never get over the weirdness she felt when her senses enhanced. It was like a sudden light being switched on, blinding at first.

They passed through the dark room that Hermione knew to be the staff room; entering the inner dungeons through a portrait of a girl sitting upon a unicorn. The innocence that the image radiated was a great contrast to what lay beyond the door. She had been in the staff room several times during her final year, as head girl she had often needed to find teachers yet she had never seen that particular picture before.

Perhaps Hermione should have guessed what to expect from the oldest part of the school, but Hogwarts had always been a safe haven to her, a place where nothing bad happened and everyone was safe. The inner dungeons were the complete opposite, ancient tapestries hung from the walls depicting gruesome scenes, rusted chains were wrapped around iron pole sticking up from the floor. With her demon active Hermione had an enhanced sense of smell and she could only smell one thing; death. It seeped from the walls, clung to the walls suffocating her. It was coming from a bitch black corridor to her left which they, thankfully, passed. She imagined that no-one had been down there in centuries and that made her nervous. The corridor they were walking down was wide enough for Severus to fall into step beside her, it was lit by a series of torches, their iron frames rusted and peeling. It gave the whole place a very secret feel, like something out of old movies she had seen as a child, it was forbidding like they shouldn't be there. Thankfully Hermione was not intimidated by the ambiance as she had been into the dungeons at the manor many times.

"We are coming to the Headquarters; you may want to return your face to normal." Severus's voice was so quite that Hermione had to strain her oversensitive ears to make out the words. She immediately followed his advice, wondering how he knew what she had done in the first place. They had only been walking for about three minutes when they came to a large door. Harry knocked and was answered by the concerned face of Minerva McGonagall. The woman looked older than Hermione remembered, had it really been only a year since she had seen her old head of house?

The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix consisted of three rooms, Dumbledore's office in, a small kitchen/living room and a main meeting room. It was in this meeting room that Hermione found herself, sitting next to Severus listening to the tedious report of Percy Weasley. Hermione had always liked the young man but even she could admit that public speaking was not his forte, he droned on about something relating to the ministry while Hermione's mind drifted back to a more interesting report she had listened to about a month before.

She was honoured to be invited to attend a meeting of the council, Severus was a member and she had had always been a little jealous. As it turned out she had every reason to be, the Caveat council was spectacular. The fourteen men and twelve women sat around a grand wooden table in the same hall Hermione had attended the ball in, they were lead by Calatios and Arianna who sat as equals amongst their clan. Hermione had learnt a lot about war that night. Severus had told her the basics but now she got to see the intricacies of the feud.

She had heard reports of fights between Caveat members and those of Scelero and Vexatious. Accounts of terrible and bloodthirsty battles were reported and plans of action were debated. She learnt that the clans mostly fought out of the human's way, wizard or muggle, so as not to attract attention to themselves. Each clan had patrols that scouted for information about the others, often getting caught spying resulting in fights. The plans that the council came up with were ingenious, showing their experience at the art of war.

"Hermione?" she was jolted out of her memory by a sharp elbow from Harry, sitting on her other side.

"Sorry, What?" she felt guilty at being caught daydreaming at her very first order meeting.

"We were wondering if you had any ideas for new spells to ward our safe houses" Harry replied.

Finally she thought something I'm good at. "There are a number of possibilities for new wards. I could do some research and develop some ideas for the next meeting. " she was glad at the enthusiastic response she got, she needed something to do or her brain would turn to mush.

The meeting went on for about two hours, Hermione did have some input but she noticed that Severus was silent. At the council meeting he had demonstrated that he was skilled at strategic panning yet now he offered nothing. She knew he had to play the role of Greasy git of the dungeons but she had not realised how much he had to sacrifice to fit this persona. She felt very privileged that she was the only person in the room who knew the real Severus Snape.

The meeting room was a large room with a huge table taking up most of the space. It could easily seat twenty people and at the moment about ten members were present. Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his back to the wooden door leading to his office, with McGonagall to his right and Remus Lupin to his left. Also at the table sat Mad-eye Moody, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Tonks, Harry, Hermione and Severus. The walls were plain stone and it seemed that no-one had made any effort to change the ancient room into a more practical meeting place for a war council.

Severus was bored, he hated order meetings. Albus had no idea of how to run a democracy, everyone looked to him before they suggested anything, and there was no real debate. The order was lead and controlled by Albus Dumbledore and he felt it was a shame no-one else had enough of a brain to realise that although he was a great wizard, he was not always right. In fact, Severus could have added a lot of knowledge to the proceedings if he wanted to, he just had no interest. He had bigger things to worry about, more important wars to occupy his time he did, however want Voldemort gone and this was the only way to make that happen.

He knew Hermione was not paying attention, he could see that her eyes were glazed over and she had a far away look in her eyes. He wondered what she was thinking of; he wondered if it was the foul place they had had to walk through to get there. The inner dungeons were the safest place in Hogwarts so naturally that was where the order met. They used the nearest rooms to the entrance and did venture any further. Severus knew Hermione had smelt the death, he had too, he also knew that she had insatiable curiosity. He must warn her not to go down there; no-one had been down there in over three hundred years, plenty of time for various monsters to breed. He had wondered what was down there many times but decided it was not worth the risk to find out. Severus noticed that neither Ron nor Ginny Weasley were present at the meeting a fact he was truly glad about. He hated that boy for the way he treated Hermione that afternoon and if she would have let him he would have gladly killed him; there were too may Weasleys anyway.

"Finally" Hermione muttered to herself as she left the meeting room. She was tired, she had been awake for almost twenty four hours now as she had been up all night then all day. It was now ten in the evening and usually Hermione was just waking up, she had to adjust to the human sleep patterns again and she was not looking forwards to it. The picture of Severus snapping at his classes sprung to mind and she found herself sympathising with him; vampires were creatures of the night, their demons protested to being awake during the day and were restless at night making for very short tempered potions masters. She had no desire to answer the questions that she knew people had, the order had been told of the attack and of her change but most of the details had been left out. So she left quickly before anyone could corner her.

Without thinking she made her way back to Severus's quarters, the rooms felt homely to her. She curled up in the same arm chair she had occupied earlier and drifted into an uneasy slumber.

Severus was annoyed as he left Dumbledore's office, the old man had refused to listen t any of his concerns or ideas. He was quizzed about Hermione and then dismissed like a school boy. Dumbledore had been interested to learn of Hermione's unique abilities and from the twinkle in the old mans eyes Severus would bet he was thinking of a way to use her to his advantage. Despite what everyone thought Albus was very skilled at manipulation and he never failed to demonstrate this.

Stalking through the corridors Severus though back over the summer, it had changed his life. When he had first heard that he was to look after Hermione he had been outraged, the thought of the bushy haired Gryffindor knowing of his personal life was terrifying to him. He had been cold and clinical in his handling of her yet at some point he had come to care about what happened to her. He could not pick an exact moment but he knew that somewhere along the way he had fallen for her. She was beautiful and powerful, intelligent and fierce and he loved her. Strangely this did not disturb him as much as he had expected, he felt the same as he always had. No sudden desires to indulge in romantic gestures or burst into song because, as funny as it sounds, that is what he had always thought of love., it was what he read in books and he had detested it never wanting to become someone like that.

When he got to his chambers he was still marvelling at the thought of him actually being capable of loving someone that he was elated to find the object of his desires asleep on his chair. Yet the same sight filled him with dread, he knew she could never love a horrid old man like him and that thought nearly caused his heart to shatter. Staring at his angle as she slept and knowing that he could never have her made his heart ache.

He had to tare his eyes away from her, walking over to his desk and sinking into the chair. He debated whether to wake her up or not. He knew how hard it was to adjust to the human sleeping habits and he knew that that chair was not comfortable to sleep in. he could remember many morning waking up to a stiff neck form falling asleep reading in the chair and that was enough for him to decide.

With the decision made he set about moving the sleeping Hermione into his bedroom. Lifting her into his arms he gently cradled her head while he carried her.

His bed was the standard Hogwarts four poster that everyone had, nothing special to look at but very comfortable to sleep in. As he laid Hermione of the black silk sheets he marvelled yet again at the trust she showed him. To him trust was a precious thing and for her to trust him meant more to him than anything else in the world. She mumbled something under her breath as he pulled away. He did not know how long he sat there, perched on the end of his bed just watching Hermione sleep. She was his angle, his saving grace and he loved her.

Eventually he did fall asleep, a deep slumber that he had not experienced in years.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Harry, do you know what's down in the inner dungeons" Hermione and Harry were eating lunch in the great hall. Hermione had woken up that morning and had a wonderful breakfast in Severus's chambers. She and Harry had spent the morning out by the lake, avoiding Ron and Ginny and catching up. They exchanged stories; Hermione found herself confiding in him about her growing feelings for Severus. Needless to say Harry had been shocked but after hearing about how he had helped Hermione he had conceded that while he didn't understand he was pleased for her.

They had talked about her parents and their reactions to the news. Discussing Harry's lack of a love life and many more trivial matters. It was nice to relax with her best friend but she could not help but miss the man she had left in the dungeons.

"I was waiting for you to mention that. I've tried to get Ron to go with me but he refused. The area doesn't show up on the Marauders map and I can't get any of the teachers to speak about it. " Harry had spent much of his summer looking for information on the inner dungeons; he knew that Hermione was the best with research so he had postponed his search until she could help.

"Severus told me that no-one had been down there in over three hundred years. So I was thinking maybe we could take a little trip." Hermione knew Harry would never turn down the chance to explore.

Grinning from ear to ear Harry replied, "I thought you'd never ask" and with that they were off to the library to plan their adventure.

They were hunched over on of the tables in the livery with their heads almost touching as they examined the worn yellow pages of the original copy of Hogwarts a History, when they heard a loud cough from behind them.

"So that's why you turned me down!" Came the voice of an irate Ginny Weasley. She had been devastated when Harry had said he didn't want to date her but now she was furious. He had told her that it was because he didn't want a relationship and here he was cavorting with Hermione Granger. Ginny liked Hermione and wanted her as a sister in law but she knew that Hermione wasn't much to look at. She was great with books but was not with boys and Ginny had never seen her as competition.

"What?" Hermione was confused, she knew that Harry would never be interested in Ginny as he had confided in her that he didn't like girls at all, he had just been too shy to tell anyone. Ron and the rest of the Weasleys would not understand and they were the only family Harry had. She had tried to tell him that there opinions should not make his decisions for him but he did not want to lose him and after the letter from her parents she couldn't blame him.

"You two, I know what's going on. You told me you didn't want me and now I see why. Oh, Harry how could you settle for her."

"There is nothing going on between me and Hermione. She is my best friend and I love her, but not in that way." Harry's voice was deceptively quite. He was livid, how Ginny could think herself better than Hermione was beyond him.

"Well I don't believe you and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it." with that Ginny stormed out of the library earning a scowl from Madame Prince the librarian.

Hermione burst into laughter at the look on Harry's face and soon the two friends were laughing together. That was the way they dealt with Ginny, she had made it clear in the past they she fancied Harry and it was hilarious that she thought herself better than everyone around her. Hermione did not mind, she just paid no attention to her anymore choosing instead to enjoy the people around her who did appreciate her.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The door into the inner dungeons creaked closed behind them as Hermione and Harry winced under the invisibility cloak. They had met outside the staff room as arranged, it was ten at night and they were banking on all the Order members being out of the rooms. The corridor that they had taken last night was again lit by torches and Hermione was now familiar with the route she could appreciate the details she had missed the previous evening, she could now see intricate carvings around the ceiling and the way one or two of the bricks were uneven. Little things like that added to the ambiance of the place.

When they reached the entrance to the dark corridor Hermione felt a shiver run down her spine, her demon smelt blood and it was harder than every to keep it controlled. It was unusual for her to have problems with her demon; she had been told that she had remarkable control. During the many hours she had spent devolving her skills she had learnt to use her magic in conjunction to her demon, she had learnt to fight often spending hours in the gym with Severus and though she had never beaten him she was a formidable opponent.

The entrance to the forbidden corridor was marked by a stone arch way, it was covered in the same moss that hid the walls in the other parts of the dungeons but it somehow seemed more sinister here. She could imagine that it was once a grand entrance way into the belly of the castle. She wondered how many people had walked under this arch into the waiting darkness. The corridor in front of them was pitch black, Harry had trouble seeing in these conditions but due to her vampire status Hermione felt strangely comfortable with the conditions.

As they carefully began to walk into the darkness Hermione could see the outlines of carvings on the walls, she took a moment to look and realised that they were not carvings but claw marks dung into the stone walls. She wondered what was powerful enough to make such a deep mark in solid stone. Underneath their feet the bones of long dead rats crunched as they were turned into powder. The sound echoed in the silent hall and seemed to draw them in, daring them to go further. But also informing any waiting predators of their presence, it was a risk they had to take.

They were now far enough in that they could light their wands and take a good look at what they had entered without being seen by anyone walking past the entrance to the corridor. Hermione had a good idea of what they would see but she was unwilling to expose her demon to Harry if she didn't have to so she could not make use of her enhanced senses. Harry was glad of the light as he had been almost blind as they walked.

What the space ahead of them was illuminated it was a horrifyingly spectacular site to behold.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- WOW! I'm amazed at the reviews I got, thank you sooooooo much. Hope you enjoy this chapter as its been my favourite to write. ENJOY!

Chapter six - Hidden beauty and Well kept Secrets.

_Strong beats rang out through the huge chamber, echoing off the elegant green marble floor. Blood stained the sliver stone walls as the creatures that gyrated on the dance floor. The victims of the savage beasts were strung up by there arms, secured to the walls like decorations, perhaps that's what they were. There was about fifty in total, human entertainment there blood feeding the devils that slaughtered them. _

_Of the monsters that were still clothed the woman wore tight fitting bodices with big pleated skirts, traditional upper class British fashion from the mid seventeenth centaury. _

_She could feel the pure jot these creatures got from the most despicable crimes. Murder and rape were common place amongst theses beasts and she could not help but empathise with their want for blood. _

_She could see violent sexual acts being willing inflicted, she wondered how it must feel to be completely dominated, to lose complete control and give yourself to your chosen partner. The party going on in this room demonstrated the darker side of nature and she _

_was drawn to the same darkness that she had once despised. _

_The party continued, the sex grew wilder and wilder and the amount of blood splattered across the floor increased and the music had changed to a long classical piece that was so soft it seemed out of place in the underground lair. The whole room took on a deceptively calm atmosphere that sent shivers down her spine. _

_She continued to observe as a man walked straight thought he middle of the hall, the crowd parted in front of him their backs band as they bowed as she passed. Soon the whole room fell into an uneasy silence, the vibrant music had stopped and a feeling of dread had settled over the crowd. _

_The man oozed power, it seemed from every crevice, suffocating and erotically enticing. It drew people too him, overtaking their common sense and bathing them in the darkness he commanded. He was dressed in a long black velvet cloak covering his naked body. He was well defined, taught muscles showed his strength and well manicured nails showed his position, he not get his hands dirty as he had people to do it for him. His hair was long, golden waves reaching past his waste gave him the appearance of an angle but one look into his blood red piercing eyes. He came to a halt between to stunning stone statues, one of an angle and the other a devil. It was as if one sat on each of his shoulders though Hermione got the feeling that nothing good was left inside of this mans tainted soul. _

_He addressed the crowd but she was not close enough to hear what he was saying. She seemed to be pulled further and further away from this terrible place. In the back of her mind she could hear something, no, someone calling her name. _

"Hermione!" Harry was franticly shouting, shaking her violently by the shoulders calling her name trying to wake her up. The moment they had entered the chamber she had fallen unconscious. As if in a trance she had floated to the ground. Harry had been trying to wake her up for over five minuets and was just about to run for help when he heard her murmur something.

"Hermione can you hear me? It Harry, Hermione are you ok?" she nodded with a barley noticeable moving of her head.

"give me a minuet" she opened her eyes to look at him but was blinded by a searing pain that filled her head. She closed her eyes and lay still. Harry thought she looked like a corpse, not moving in any way; a still as the grave.

It was only now that he was sure Hermione was going to be alright that Harry looked around the chamber they had fund themselves in. He gasped as his eyes rested on the human skeletons that hung from the crumbling stone walls. There were dried blood stains still visible on the green marble floor. There was no dust in the room though Harry knew no-one had set eyes on it in three hundred years. Doing some calculations he worked out that the skeletons belonged to people from the seventeenth centaury. Just from looking at the chamber he could see that it had once been grand. There were crumbling stone statues at one end, they were to badly damaged he could not tell what they were meant to be.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice was weak, like she had been asleep for a long time. The words seemed to scratch her throat as they exited her dry lips.

"Hermione I think we should get out of here" Harry sounded nervous and Hermione's opinion that was not a good sign. The boy had stood up against Voldemort without flinching so when he got nervous it usually meant something was badly wrong.

"What Harry, we just got here." Hermione did want to leave the chamber, though she wanted to discuss what she had experienced with Severus she had the feeling that there was more to see and that whatever terrible secrets were buried down here could be useful in the current wars she was fighting in.

"Hermione I know your curious but I really don't think we should be here." Harry knew that she would not be convinced by him but felt he had to try.

"Harry, lets just look around for a bit." with that she got up from the floor, her head ach completely gone, and began to walk further into the deserted room.

Harry followed; as much as he didn't want to be there it was better than leaving Hermione by herself.

The pair slowly walked around the perimeter of the room, Hermione was amazed by the beauty the room held, she was now sure that the room she had seen was the same as the room as she stood in now. The feeling of insignificance that Harry was feeling was not something that featured in her mind, if anything she felt that she was meant to be there. She put little faith in divination but she knew that there was something down here that she was meant to see. It was tugging at her insides, dragging her further into hell.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Severus was worried. He had not seen Hermione or Potter all day. He knew that that was not a good sign but could not see what trouble they could get in. they were in the school they had been student at for seven years; they had thoroughly exhausted all the possibilities for discovery that Hogwarts had to offer. He knew all about their adventures over the years, the headmaster refused to expel them saying that they were needed here. The old man always had favoured his precious Gryffindors no matter where the blame truly lied. Severus thought back to the prank Sirius Black had pulled on him, not only did he end up faced with Remus the werewolf and owing James Potter a life debt but Dumbledore had refused to expel the four Gryffindor and forbidden them form ever mentioning the incident again.

Suddenly a sinking feeling settled in his gut, he had a good about where they had gone and if he was right they could be in great danger. He knew that it was the kind of thing they would do. Telling them somewhere was forbidden was like telling them to go and explore. He told Dumbledore to ward the entrance to that God forsaken place but he had refused to see it as a danger. He left so quickly he forgot to ward his own quarters.

Severus burst into Dumbledore's office a few moments later. It was an unusual sight to behold; the potions master out of breath, sweat plastering his long hair to his forehead.

"Did you run all the way from the Dungeons, my boy?" Dumbledore's voice held a tone of amusement. The twinkle in his eye was working overtime as he studied the younger man.

"Harry and Hermione are missing." Severus's breathing was still laboured but he was able to convey his message. "I believe they have gone into the inner dungeons".

Immediately the twinkle died and Dumbledore's features turned serious. In that moment he seemed to age dramatically, this was the real Albus, the crumbling shell of the once powerful wizard; everyone gets old and everyone dies but what were they going to do when Albus's time was up. Could the order survived without him?

"Your sure?" his voice was light, as if he didn't want to believe that his golden boy could do something so stupid. Even thought the last eight years had proved the boy tended to be found in places that he shouldn't be.

"Yes, sir" Severus's voice had lost its usual smooth quality and was now rough and weak. He hated showing weakness and it was a testament to his feelings for Hermione that he was willing to expose it.

Dumbledore stood, his posture was tired and as he gestured for Severus to follow him he was tired. They were both lost in thought as they hurried to the staff room. Dumbledore was excited at having an excuse to venture deeper into the school and disappointed that Harry had ignored his warnings and betrayed his trust.

Severus was even more worried now. He knew that Hermione was capable of defending herself against physical attacks but there were creatures that invoked much older, more powerful methods to claim the lives of their victims. His brain was working overtime as he imagined various gruesome scenarios involving Hermione. This was why he avoided feelings, they made you weak. If his farther could see him now he would laugh his head off. Severus shook his head; thinking about his farther was never a positive experience. He knew that feelings made him weak but he also knew that he would never change his love for Hermione.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The chamber was so big that they could not hope to look at it all, Hermione wanted to explore everything she had no doubt that the dungeons were amazing. From what she had seen she could imagine a maze of passages and halls. However for now she was following her instincts.

As they walked around the room their footsteps echoed in the silence, Hermione remembered the music she had heard and felt a longing to see the room alive again. It could be so wonderful filled with people; no death and no monsters. They passed many doorways leading in lots of different directions, they were all dark and it was impossible to tell where they lead. The air was stale, Harry was uncomfortable, suffocating in the vast emptiness. Hermione didn't breath so she had know way of knowing that Harry was uncomfortable; not that it would have stopped her quest.

At the back of the chamber the pair stumbled across a door carved into the stone work. Hermione didn't hesitate before she pushed it open. Harry however did, he did not want to be down there anymore. He had been waiting all summer to explore the forbidden dungeons without giving a second thought as to why they had been forbidden from going down there in the first place, but now he was beginning to think Dumbledore had been right, the reaction Hermione had had to the chamber had worried him, he did not know what had caused her to faint and had no idea about what she had experienced, all he knew was that this place was more creepy than the chamber of secrets; that was saying something.

Hermione could still feel the pull of the dungeons; it was beginning to reach her demon. It was becoming reckless, even in its submissive position it could feel the evil that was lurking in the dark and that worried Hermione. She had not lost control of her demon for over two months but the deeper they ventured into this place the less control she had over it.

The room behind the door was smaller than the chamber, about the size of the Gryffindor common room but not nearly as welcoming. It was like a stone prison cell, the walls, floor and cleaning were the same grey cold stone. There were no grand statues, no marble floor and no skeletons hanging from the walls. Compared to the main chamber this room was insignificant but to Hermione it was much more interesting.

The floor was rough but clean, no blood spatters covering the rough stone. The room was a stark contrast to what she had seen happen in the main hall yet somehow it was scary. Maybe it was because of the lack of emotion, the pure emptiness in the room that seemed to seep into Harry's soul and feed Hermione's demon. She didn't know why but she felt a connection with the room, her demon was more restless than it had ever been. She thought about asking Harry to leave in case she lost control but as she was turning around she caught sight of a mark on the wall.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

They were hurrying through the portrait hole that lead to the inner dungeons when Severus felt something pulling at his soul. It wasn't a painful sensation but it stopped him in his tracks, his felt refused to move and he could not speak to answer Albus's questioning gaze. His throat closed up as he felt a strange power surged through him. He tried to speak but the words got stuck in his throat causing him to choke. Luckily he did not need oxygen to survive as if he did he would have been dead at this point.

A burst of energy spurred him to sprint into the dungeons, completely relying on his instincts to guide him through the dark tunnel. He was lucky not to fall as he ran on the uneven ground of the tunnel. He wasn't paying attention to anything around him as he sped through the chamber. Not noticing any of the things that he normally would have, not thinking of fear or personal safety as he normally would have; consumed by his need to reach her.

"Professor!" Harry called out in relief, something he'd never thought he'd feel in regards to Snape.

"Potter, where is she?" Severus needed to see her; the power coursing in his veins was scaring him. When he saw Harry gesture towards the room in front of him Severus began to take small steps forwards. Anyone who had sat in his class would tell you that Professor Snape was a mean old bastard that lurked in the dungeons like a greasy bat and they would never have believed you if you told them about the flicker of fear that graced his features as he looked into the little room.

Harry was even more relived to see Dumbledore and made his way over to stand beside the old man. Laying a hand on the young mans shoulder Albus watched Severus as he entered the room, he knew there was something between Hermione and the potions master and thought that maybe they just needed a small nudge in the right direction and with that the twinkle in his eye was firmly re-lit.

Harry was also staring at the potions master. Hermione had told him about her feeling towards the older man and Harry was looking for any sign that she was in danger of having her heart broken. He wasn't convinced that Hermione and Severus were right for each other but from the look on the professors' face he knew she wouldn't get hurt unnecessarily.

Harry had been shocked by Hermione's reaction to the markings on the wall, as far as he could tell they were some sort of language. They were symbols, simple adaptations of basic shapes which looked like they had been dung into the stone with bare hands as there was blood stains on the wall around them.

Hermione seemed to understand what they meant as once she had knelt down to inspect them closely she had let out an animalistic howl and lay down on the ground sobbing. The noise was enough to warn Harry that something was wrong; it was a noise of pure sorrow.

"Get out Harry, I don't want to hurt you" Hermione had whispered to him as he bent over her. He remembered what she had told him of demons inside vampires and decided that it was best to go and get help. He had just been leaving when he had seen professor Snape and then Dumbledore come running into the chamber, the old man was one hundred and fifty years old and Harry was positive that he was fitter than himself at nineteen.

Hermione was still on the ground sobbing when Severus entered the smaller room, he was angry at her for coming down there but decided that he would wait until she was better to question her. He was worried when he saw her, thinking back to how he had reacted the first time he had seen her cry he had a deep longing for Araia, the old woman would know exactly what to do. However Araia wasn't there and Severus thought about her after the Weasley boy had upset her, he had been able to comfort her sufficiently on his own then and he would do it again now.

Very slowly he bent down over her, her eyes were closed tightly but she could smell him.

"Severus, I need to feed." she knew that blood was the only thing to settle her demon now, as much as she had wanted to keep Harry from this side of her nature she knew it was extremely important that she regain control.

"Of course, do you want to do it here?" Severus was not yet sure how dire the situation was so he wondered if they could make it make to the comfort of his chambers.

"Now!" she cried as she finally lost control, sinking her teeth into Severus's outstretched wrist she felt the skin break releasing the nourishment below. The blood was warm and slid down her throat heating her cold, dead body as it went. There was no other feeling in the world to describe how amazing it felt, it was like coming back to life. Her nerve endings tingles and her heart let out an involuntary beat; for a moment she was living.

Harry and Dumbledore both watched in stunned silence as Hermione fed. It was such an intimate act that they both felt like trespassers, imposing on a private moment. Although Hermione had told him about her need to drink blood Harry now understood why she had tried to play down its significance. It was savage and stomach churning to watch as she greedily drank down the metallic liquid. Funny, the most natural substance in the world tastes like a man made substance Harry mused as his mind tried to block out what was in front of him.

Dumbledore on the other hand was fascinated by the feeding he was witnessing, he knew that it was a very personal thing but he could not help thinking of various ways to use it too his advantage in the war. Hermione and Severus could very well be the missing elements needed to kill Tom Riddle once and for all. Albus did truly care about his students and the people under his care, he didn't want o risk their lives with stupid decisions but he was willing to risk the lived on people for the cause. He believed that Tom Riddle needed to die and he was willing to go s far as using children to achieve that. It didn't mean her was a bad person but it did mean he was a good leader.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Later that night Hermione and Severus were lying on his bed discussing the events from the dungeons. Hermione was waiting for the lecture about how she shouldn't have gone down there and how she had risked her life but they never came. Instead Severus wanted to know what had happened to make her lose control in front of people she so desperately didn't want to see her demon.

As they lie on the bed, Hermione spooned against Severus' side, his had stroking her soft hair they discussed the afternoon.

"it was like a vision but much clearer. I knew the people and it felt like I was meant to be there, one of the gang." Hermione was trying to explain her 'vision' to Severus who put as much faith in divination as she did before that afternoon. She was having trouble convincing him that it was real not just a dream while she was unconscious. Harry had told them about how she had looked on the outside during the incident but Severus wanted to know what was happening on the inside. Hermione wanted him to believe her as she was sure that what she had learnt would be important somehow. "it was like the party we attended at he Cravat house only much more violent and dark." she had truly been shaken by the feeling of belonging she had felt during that party. When she had told Severus this he had said not to worry but she was sure there was something she wasn't being told. She hated being left out of things, especially when they concerned her, she knew that Severus would tell her in the end but she was disappointed to think that he didn't trust her with the information.

"What about the markings?" he got to the question he really wanted to ask, he had never seen anything like them.

"They are very old, but still portray their message they were meant to. I believe they tie in with the images a viewed. There was a man there like no-other, he commanded over the others and could feel their terror when he arrived, he sucked the emotion from the room leaving it cold and full of dread. Sev, he had blood red eyes." she knew he would understand the significance of this as he had been the one to tell her about the vampire clans identifying features, blood red eyes meant Statim and she was half turned by one.

He hadn't believed her before but now it was apparent that she was telling the truth, no-one could have seen Vexatious; the darkest of their kind. No-one outside his clan had laid eyes on him in over three hundred years and when he told Hermione that she just nodded and said "I know why."

"Do share." Severus implored her after a moment's silence. He was anxious, this would have to be reported to Calatios and no-one knew how the old vampire would react. This could be their chance to win both wars.

"There was a fight in the dungeons, he was hurt badly. The markings were the language of Statim, they don't trust English as it can be understood by so many of their enemies, so they invented their own and charmed it so that only people with their blood could understand it." he did not ask how she knew this, just let her carry on "the markings were put there by one of the prisoners, one of their on kind used for sport. She wrote that there was a battle that night between two of the clans and that her leader had been beaten by another. She didn't know how but she knew that her leader vowed never to venture out of his palace again and that he had suffered terrible scars to his face." Hermione was still shocked over the way Vexatious treated members of his own clan, she was extremely grateful to be part of Cravat as she now knew what could have happened to her. That thought was enough for her to burry her head in Severus's shoulder and wrap her arms around his waist.

If she hurt him he did not show it he just continued stroking her hair and thinking over what she had told him. If it was true, which he did not doubt it was, it could be vital in the wars. It was a well known fact that Voldemort was relying heavily on the vampires support. He had approached Calatios with an offer of power and glory that was only refused as it meant working with other clans.

When he was sure Hermione was asleep beside him he managed to tear himself away from paradise to write to the clan council. He knew they would want to investigate but he hoped they could do it without upsetting Hermione and the Order.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Harry was shaking as he remembered Severus feeding Hermione. He was sitting in Dumbledore's office, the old man had gone to call the order together. He remembered what Hermione had told him about her knew lifestyle and couldn't help but think she had left out some of the important bits. He knew why she had done it now, her demon form was vastly different from the Hermione he knew and if he hadn't seen it he would have been happy to pretend she was still his Hermione; the slightly bossy girl he had known for almost nine years instead of a powerful witch with a dark side to her that was really quite shocking. Harry vowed then that he would never judge her as Ron had, never underestimate her as Ginny had but love her as it seemed Severus did.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The order meeting was called for later that evening and Hermione knew that this time there would be no escaping the questions; she was right. As soon as she had taken her seat between Harry and Severus she had been bombarded form every side.

The whole inner circle of the order was present a the meeting, the people who were there last time were added to by all the Weasleys, Sirius Black who had been hiding out at his family home since the incident at the ministry where he had faked his own death.

The moment she had entered Ron and Ginny had stopped talking and stared at them, an unrecognisable mirrored on both their faces. Hermione had not looked but Harry had, he was surprised at how little he missed Ron's company, maybe he was tired of meaningless conversations and schoolboy jokes; they had stopped being school boys years ago and the situation with Hermione had made him realise how much growing up he had to do.

Ginny was fuming as she watched Harry, Hermione and Severus enter, how could they stand to be in the company of the bat? Harry had hated Professor Snape since first year and now all of a sudden they were always together; it was HER fault. Ginny believed that it was Hermione's fault that everything had changed. she could not see the bigger picture and remained the naive girl she had always been.

Ron, on the other hand, was feeling guilty. He really hadn't meant to hurt Hermione he had just followed his heart, what was wrong with that? He was adamant that Hermione was the one from him, he just needed to make her see that.

Hermione could not concentrate, there were too many people talking at once, it was one big blur of voices. She didn't want to be there, she was cared of he rejection she knew she would face from the people she considered family however she found herself thinking that the two most important people knew already and still wanted to know her, she had a new family in Ireland. She should have been shocked to find that Severus was the most important person in the room but somehow she wasn't; it felt natural to love him. WAIT her mind screamed at her, love, when did that happen?

"Attention everyone, I know everyone has lots of questions, but we must treat this matter careful" Dumbledore spoke calmly but there was a very slight edge to his voice that only Severus picked up. So the great Albus Dumbledore is scared, he thought, and so you should be, she's more powerful than even you would believe old man. Severus found it amusing that Hermione was unaware of the feelings she was creating in the headmaster, if she knew she would certainly try and reassure him; one of her more Gryffindor tendencies.

Hermione looked around the room and was shocked that no-one would meet her gaze. Molly Weasley began to cry as on her opinion Hermione had undergone some form of hardship. The others just looked sorry for her as they turned their heads down to study the table. It was a shameful sight to see; a war council afraid to face one of their own and it was the reaction Hermione had been dreading.

The minuets seemed to drag on until Mrs Weasley lost control of her fragile emotions.

"I'm so sorry dear" Mrs Weasley sobbed into her husbands arm as if the world had come to an end.

"I'm fine Mrs Weasley" Hermione was a little shocked by the older ladies reaction. Sure she was a bit different now but she was beginning to see that as an advantage, not as Molly was assuming, a terrible hardship.

Hermione's attempts at calming her down had little effect on the distraught woman. Hermione had always thought of Molly as a surrogate mother but now she just saw an overemotional interfering woman, she had no doubt that Molly had actively encouraged Ron to propose to her ruining their friendship with both he and Ginny.

"I think what Molly was trying to say is that we all wish this had not happened to you." Arthur looked as upset as his wife but thankfully did not start crying.

The other people in the room seemed to be encouraged by Molly's question and soon there was yet again a barrage of questions aimed at Hermione and surprisingly for her Severus as well.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - HI, sorry I didn't update last week, when they told us the gap from GCSE to A-Level was big they weren't kidding. I think I've managed to work out a way to fit in writing and school work but it means shorter chapters with regular up-dates. (not as short as this though. Sorry about that but I only had a few hours!!)

I would appreciate some feed back on my use of direct speech as I'm not that confident about using it. Thank-you all for the reviews I've received. ENJOY!

Chapter seven - the price of innocence

"I'm at peace with it now though and I hope nothing has to change between us."

The atmosphere was beginning to relax as Hermione finished her tale, she had told the same version as she told Harry. Emotions surged through her, everything from relief to sorrow but by some miracle she managed to keep a neutral look on her face.

For five long minuets no-one spoke, Dumbledore looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone as if trying to convey a message with a meaningful look, Hermione realised he probably was.

"Well I for one thing that this should be looked on as an advantage." Remus spoke for the first time, his long drawn face showing the weight of the burden he carried. "this does not have to be a bad thing for us. Hermione had some extraordinary abilities that we can make use of. " Hermione knew that Remus was speaking, in part, of his own experiences. He had also been affected by an event like this when he was barley able to comprehend the word werewolf and he was being classed as a monster. She also knew she had a friend in the man and she had a feeling he knew the darker aspects of her life as he had also been living this double-life for longer than she had been alive.

"I agree, Hermione can assist me in improving relations between the order an the clan. She had done nothing wrong and no-one in this room has the right to make her feel as if she had. She is still part of this order and despite everything that had happened she is still willing to fight in this war." She knew Severus would be on her side, he had told her so, but it still felt great to hear him publicly defend her. To know that the hard faced persona he presented to the world was dropped for her. She didn't know how it happened but as she listened to him address the order she knew; she loved him and it terrified her.

The rest of the order meeting proceeded with reports and plans being formulated. No-one said anything about Hermione but she knew he issue was still there bubbling under the surface. People were hesitant to make eye contact with her. Severus's speech had made sure that everyone kept their opinions to themselves and Hermione was waiting for the meeting to be over to thank him.

Harry was also waiting for the meting to be over; he was the saviour of the wizarding world but that did not mean he had to enjoy the long meetings. He was nineteen years old and he was going to save the world. That was enough to deal with but now he had to deal with all his friendships falling apart. He was still pondering how he was going to deal with Ron and Ginny when he noticed people starting to leave. He looked around for Hermione but couldn't see her anywhere. He yawned and realised that he could do nothing else that night but get into bed and get a good nights rest.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Hermione was sitting on her bed. She had left the meeting and returned to her room to think. She was worried about her new feelings for a man twice her age. She knew what her mother would say and was not looking forward to introducing Severus to her parents. She sat up with a start, introducing Severus to her parents where had that come from? She wasn't even sure if he wanted to be with her and she was considering their future. That brought on another barrage of questions; Did she have a future? Was she going to survive the war?

She was begging to get hysterical when she heard a knock on the door. As she got off the bed she noticed her hands were shaking, walking slowly over to the door she took a series of deep soothing breaths and heaved open the heavy brown oak door. Revealing a very dishevelled Severus.

He had left the meeting in a flourish of black robes, terrifying everyone he passed. He was ashamed to be part of an order that discriminated against a young innocent girl. He was fuming, his thoughts became disorganised something which for the master legillimens was almost unheard of. He could still see the woman he loved sitting in that chair trying to conceal the emotions that he could feel radiating form her, hiding them from the very people who she should be able to tell anything. Before he knew it an hour had passed, he had been walking for most of that time stalking around the dungeons. The moment he realised how long it had been he became aware of the soreness in his leg muscles and the small beads of sweat he could feel dripping down his back. Immediately he knew that he should not have left her alone as he began to walk towards her door he thought back over what he had been doing and realised: he loved her. The realisation was enough to stop him in his tracks. He knew he cared about her but it was still a big shock to him. He did not love, it was something he did not know what to do. Fretting over it was doing him no good. He knew she would never want a old man like him. He was an ugly old bat with a big nose and greasy hair and she was an amazingly beautiful young woman with the whole world at her feet, he intelligence was un matched even by him. In short she was everything he'd ever wanted and everything he knew he'd never have.

Tears formed in his eyes as her thought of life without her, as he reached her door he tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Reaching up to knock on her door he noticed that his hands where shaking and as he waited for her to answer he was trying to appear clam and not the shaking mess he was inside.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- this is about the length I think all the future chapters are going to be as it's the most I can realistically do. I know the last few chapters had been a bit dull but I promise I've now laid the scene for the better parts of the story. ENJOY!!

Chapter 8 - The enemy is at the gates.

Hermione stood staring at Severus, an unidentifiable look in her eyes as they travelled over his body taking in every inch, from the un-tucked creased white shirt that hung from his thin frame, to the perfect beads of sweat that rolled down his neck making her wish she could caress the smooth skin they passed over. She could see herself kissing her way down his neck, making him moan as she suckled his throat leaving behind her mark on his pale skin. Her posture changed, she relaxed melting into the floor as she stood, nervously while he returned her gaze. Sweeping over her deceptively strong body in a way that would have taken her breath away if she had any.

She was perfect, her body never ceased to amaze him. How could one person appear so feminine and yet be so powerful and strong in her personality and in her physical abilities. She was wearing light blue shorts that stopped mid-thigh exposing her toned shapely legs, her grey tank top showed off her curves. As he reached her face he was surprised to see lust in the black depths, he thought he was imaging it at first as it was such an unbelievable sight, but when she steeped aside to invite him into her room her knew that it was more than just lust. She felt something for him and he had a hard time maintaining the view that it was only the kindness she felt for any of her friends.

Hermione's sitting room was decorated in a very classical style, very much like Severus's. The walls were a rich cream that made the whole room appear friendly and extenuated the beauty of the pale wooden floor. She guessed it was beach wood as it had an amazing gold colour to it; the furniture was made of the same wood. Shelves of book lined the wall and a wonderful mantle stood proudly over the roaring fire. As Hermione had been in her bedroom when Severus had knocked she had not had time to light any candles so the whole room was shrouded in pale flickering firelight. In front of the fire was a soft sheep skin rug that was warm from being so close to the heat and as they sat in the two leather arm chairs Hermione buried her bare, clod feet in its inviting folds.

Severus sat with his back hunched, disregarding his usual perfect posture for a more relaxed pose making Hermione once again revel in the fact that only she got to see him like this. He only let her see the real him, the man not the monster that others saw him as. He had his eyes closed as sat, his over sensitive nose picking up a wonderfully unique smell that he could pick out of a crowd of a thousand people; the sweet aroma that was Hermione.

He was a peace with himself here, he was still not fully able to comprehend how this young woman had the ability to bring him peace; something that he had spent his whole life searching for, usually finding at the bottom of a very large bottle of fire whiskey. That feeling he had converted for over twenty years shrivelled in comparison to what he was feeling now. His dead body felt alive as unknown feeling raced through him, awakening parts of him that he had believed lost. Although his eyes were closed his brain was still working overtime in an attempt to calm his nerves, he thought back over the summer he had spent with Hermione and again pondered how he had fallen for such an angle. He remembered one afternoon when they had been sparring in the gym, he had spent a week teaching her how to use a knife and that Sunday evening as the moon rose in high in the black sky she had beaten him for the very first time.

"Told you I could do it" the pride was obvious in her voice as she held her knife to his throat. She was straddling him, pinning him to the floor one hand holding her knife the other holding his hands above her head. She was tired, they had just woken up from a full days rest and she was tired. Sweat poured from every part of her body running down to mix with his as it ran onto the mat beneath them. Hermione's eyes still held a magical spark, a little piece of hope in the darkness and at that moment Severus thought it had every right to shine. A small smile graced his thin lips as he took in the triumphant look on her face.

"I never doubted you. As I have always told you; you can do anything when you put your mind to it. " he was looking up at her from his vulnerable position as she was taken back by the sincerity in his voice. Strongly for Severus the potion he found himself in did not feel terrible to him, in the past being helpless had terrified him but now he felt completely safe; trust he realised, something that did not come easy to him and once lost could never be regained. He was shaken from his memories by her voice.

"Are you OK?" Hermione was a little worried by his behaviour, as much as she relished the chance to see this side of him she knew there must be a reason for him letting his guard down so fully.

"Just remembering the first time you beat me in a fight." he sounded tired "You were exquisite you know, the grace you fight with and the way you make it into a wonderfully perfected dance. You took my breath away that day." he did not mean to but as he spoke he could not help the emotion from seeping into his soft voice.

"I learned from the best." she said sternly, daring him to argue, as she reached across the gap in between them to take his hand. "I could never fight like that if you hadn't shown me. I could never be who I am without you" she whispered as she felt him pull her gently by their interconnected hands, out of her chair and onto his awaiting lap.

As she sat staring into his unbelievable memorizing eyes she felt a shiver run through his body. They sat, huddled together on the chair; Hermione moved her head to the crook of his neck. She did not need to breath but she inhaled deeply, committing his sent to memory as he had hers so many weeks ago. It wasn't an over powerful aroma as one might think, if you had ever sat in his potions class room you would expect his sent to mirror the personality he projected; strong and intimidating. Hermione found his unique essence was soft and comforting mirroring the man inside the monster.

She could not remember what exactly went through her mind as she relished his presence. Her mind was at complete peace and her demon was sated and in harmony with the human aspects of her body. Since she had been turned she had been told by Araia that it was possible to create an inner harmony, a rare state of bliss that many vampires only found in the later stages of their endless existence yet Hermione was sure that she was teetering on the edge of paradise and at that moment she knew if she wanted any chance of reaching that state it would be with this wonderful man cradling her in his strong arms.

Severus's thoughts were along the same line as Hermione's. He was sure his demon was aware of his growing feelings for Hermione and its reaction to her was positive. He knew from experience that the opinion of his demon was going to be a vital aspect in any relationship he would enter into. When someone was turned the demon was formed from the remnants of their souls; effectively creating a soulless shell. The human brain remained intact thus retaining all moral values and personality of the person. The demon was not completely independent but it did have a strong identity of its own and while it can be controlled it also acts like a feral animal; attracted by scents and feeling rather than looks making it the perfect judge of character and while it could not reject someone it could reject the demon of another vampire. The demons could feel each other once a vampire found their "soul mate" they would create an unbreakable link brining both parties great benefits. Severus was pondering this idea, he had thought he'd never had the chance to find someone but his demon was conspicuously quiet, giving the impression that it was as impressed as he was with the girl on his lap.

She didn't realise that she was so content until she heard a faint purring erupt from her throat.

"I didn't know I was that impressive" Severus made no attempt to hide the amusement in his voice.

"Oh shut up" Hermione huffed, pouting at him.

"Oh, I don't mind sweetheart. As long as your happy, you know that" and she did know that. Over the summer he had told her many times that he would do whatever he could for her. At first it had been a shock to hear such amazing words from someone she'd always thought of as cold.

"Don't worry darling I'm fine." the teasing voice she used showed more about her state than her words. Neither of them could pinpoint when they had begun to use the endearing nicknames they had become used to hearing.

"That's ok then." He chuckled, shifting her in his arms. "What did you think of the famous order then?" he asked.

"It's a wonder they get anything done. They have no organisation, no plans. They are like a group of sheep following a senile old man. There's a war going on and they act like fools." she was finally able to vent her frustrations at the order that the wizarding world was putting it's faith in.

"Yes it is rather ineffective." he mused.

"Ineffective is an understatement, compared to the Caveat council it's a joke" she was indignant. Suddenly she sat upright.

"Severus, I've had an idea" she was a mirror image of the old school girl she had once been. Brimming over with enthusiasm as she knew the answer to a question.

"Never a good sign" he muttered, knowing perfectly well she could hear it. He knew the results of her plans and was not looking forwards to the inevitable danger it was bound to contain.

"We should take them to the manor. They could witness the council and learn from people who have been doing it for hundreds of years" Hermione was grinning like a Cheshire cat as she delivered her brilliant idea. She was in no way disheartened by the look on Severus's face, he looked as thought he had been expected it but was still shocked by the suggestion.

"Hermione I don't think" he began to object but was interrupted.

"I don't care. Severus I'm going to make this happen with or with out your help. But I would rather have you by my side. " she seemed so sure of herself; he was reminded of the ridicules S.P.E.W project she had undertaken in her student years. He had no doubt she could do it and found himself willing to put aside his own views. He wondered if he would ever get used to the way she could make him do whatever she wanted just by sticking out her lower lip and pouting at him.

"I want it noted that I'm against this" he met her eyes and she knew he was going to give it. She was probably the only person who could have that effect on him besides the clan leaders.

"Duly noted" she smiled. Lighting up the whole room with her dazzling expression of her joy at his concession.

"Now, do you have an explanation for the state I found you I this evening?" he knew he shouldn't ask but he was truly worried, the emotions he had felt radiating of her when she had opened the door were over whelming.

"I don't know what you mean" Hermione mumbled burring her head in his chest once again.

"Yes you do, Hermione. I've known you for eight years and even as a nuisance in my classroom you could not hide your emotions from anyone." It was true; she had never been able to hide her fury when he picked on the Longbottom boy. He had once found it a great source of entertainment riling the girl, trying to make her mess up a potion in anger. It had never worked of course, she was to brilliant to be distracted if anything it had made her more determined to succeed.

"Just realised a few things this evening" her evasive answer was given in a vain hope he wouldn't press the issue.

"About the order?" he was curious now.

"Among other things" she sighed at the look on his face "You actually" she couldn't look at him as he digested her confession.

Unfortunately for the pair just as Severus was about to question her further there was a knock at the door. A small sigh escaped Hermione's lips at the missed opportunity as she rose from Severus lap to answer the door.

Severus felt her lose immediately; the weight on his lap was comforting. He swore silently to himself as Hermione walked over to the door, her hips swaying seductively; how he had never noticed her beauty before was beyond him and he knew sparring with her was going to take on a whole new dimension.

Hermione was also cursing to herself; she knew she would have ended up spilling her feelings if she was still snuggled in his lap, she knew the moment would have to come; she had said too much for him to forget and surprisingly she found herself looking forward to getting it off her chest.

For the second time that evening Hermione found herself pulling open the door, this time revealing an out of breath Harry. His face was red from running and he was panting heavily, he tried to speak but found he could not get the words out so instead he made frantic hand gestures that Hermione correctly interpreted as "come quick follow me". So she did, shouting to Severus as she left instinctively knowing that he was following her.

The three of them hurtled up the stairs from the dungeons not slowing down in the slightest as they took the ancient stone steps two at a time. Hermione had all sorts of horrible scenarios running through her over active brain, from the death eaters in the castle to the death of her parents. She had no doubt that this was going to bad and as they entered the great hall she was proved right once again.

The whole order was present, she was momentarily impressed by the haste they had shown. They were all looking at the three newcomers with panic etched on their faces. Her demon was suddenly full of rage and both she and Severus could feel another presence in the castle. She turned towards him fro an explanation and was net with the words; "there are vampires in the castle and they are not friendly"

"What do we do" Mrs Weasleys shrill voice was projected over to where the two experts on vampires were standing, staring at each other fighting private battles with their demons.

They made their way over to the group in the middle of the room.

"Hermione, Severus you know the most. Please enlighten us as to a way out of this situation." Albus seemed genuinely worried about his precious school. No-one except Hermione and Severus knew of what she had seen in the chamber and now they were about to be confronted with their friends dark side; something Hermione had strongly hoped would never had to happen, all her efforts to be seen as normal were about to be destroyed. She would have to fight and it would be as a demon.

"We fight." Severus's voce had an edge to it that she had never heard before.

"The clan will know of the attack in a few moments through the blood link we share and I have no doubt they will sent assistance." He turned to face Hermione "Are you ready for this?"

"Ready for what?" Ron had spoken before she had a change to reply.

"To show what being a vampire means." Hermione whispered, he head bowed so she didn't have to see the hurt in his eyes.

Any discussion was lost as the doors to the great hall flew open revealing a hundred or so vampires. Immediately Hermione and Severus's faces changed as they realised their already irate demons.

Not hearing the shocked gasps from their friends as they focused wholly on the enemy at the gates.

In the age long battle between the clans there were many battles, too much innocent blood spilt and too many vampires being slain. There had never been a war without bloodshed but the savage ways of vampirism ensured that the horrific tales of legends were resurrected. Of course no-one in the order knew of this, although Severus had made no secret of his heritage the issue had never publicly been raised, this meant that they were left un prepared and underestimating what they were about to face.

Time froze as Hermione and Severus stood at the forefront, demon shown in full glory, hungry for blood and aroused at the thought of the battle to come. The rest of the order stood behind them, Dumbledore with his wand raised, the rest in too much shock to think clearly. All the Weasleys were there, Arthur and Bill standing in font of the others trying in vain to offer some reassurance to their family.

The blood red eyes of the enemy marking them as members of the clan of Statim. The most bloodthirsty of them all. It was said that their leader; Vexatious was a murder when he was a human , the lowest of the low and the most ambitious of the five originals. It was he who appeared in various human stories about monsters in the dark; if only the truth were that simple. There were many twists to what had happened all those years ago and only five people in the world knew the truth; none were willing to share.

The leader of this group stepped forwards, his blood red cloak shimmering in the winds form the open door behind him. He was a very handsome man, tall and muscular with striking facial features and mossy brown hair; Hermione thought he look innocent until he smiled at her; with that simple movement it was as if his whole face re-arranged itself, an evil glint appeared in hid eyes as he lips moved apart revealing the sharp fangs of his no in control demon. That was the signal for the beginning of the battle as in that moment all hell broke lose.

The next few moments seemed to fly by in a matter of seconds as Hermione put everything she had learnt over the summer into practice. She fought with the grace of a lioness, throwing powerful kicks and punches using her magic to surprise her opponents. Her magic was not yet up to the standard it once was but it was improving steadily and despite Severus constant warnings she was determined to become the most powerful witch in the world.

Severus was also using magic to his advantage; his mothers powers had meant that he was able to comfortably use magic with no adverse effects. He ducked a flying kick to the head by falling to the floor; rising up he cast a wandless accio that sent a suit of armour flying into his opponent taking his head off in the process sending a spurt of blood into the sky.

After only a few moments of fighting the ancient oak floor of the hall was stained red with the glistening blood pooling over it. The house banners on the walls were splattered by the blood from one of Hermione victims. The order of the phoenix were once again rendered speechless by the new Hermione, her emotionless killings and her savage and methodical murder of anyone who stood in her way were a far cry from the Hermione they all knew and loved. It was scary, she was a completely different person , someone they didn't know and weren't sure they wanted to.

Ron was particularly shocked by Hermione's behaviour, he had always thought of her as the quiet know-it-all hat let him copy her homework. He knew that in the past she had not had many friends and was certain this meant she would accept his proposal whenever he was ready to give it. Ginny had told him that Hermione loved him, furling his delusions and possibly losing him his too closest friends. Ron had also been surprised by Harry's reaction to him, he knew that Harry and Hermione were close but he had always believed that the male to male bond they shared would always come out on top. He was also totally pissed off that everyone accepted her relationship with that bat, the man had made their life hell at school and now after one summer Hermione was suddenly never seen without him; Ginny had also told him about finding Harry and Hermione together in the library. At first he hadn't belived it but now as he watched Harry watch Hermione he wasn't so sure; he was beginning to think his sister was right about Hermione and vowed to find out the truth.

He was thinking so hard he missed the vampire coming up behind him; not that he would have been able to do anything anyway. As he felt a presence behind him he turned just in time to see the vampire turn to dust, in its place a woman holding a long silver sword. The blade glistened as the light hit it giving it a dangerous edge. As Ron stared at the foreign woman she introduced herself: "I'm Araia" she said in a strong voice that caused a shiver of fear to run down the red-heads back. This woman was powerful of that he had no doubt but the question running through his mind was whose side was she on?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N - HI, I know this is quite short but it felt like a natural end. The next chapter is a big one and I know its going to take me time as I want to get it right, hopefully it'll be two weeks. Please let me know what you think as it does matter to me. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

When a vampire dies it is said that their demons release their soul for one final moment of flourish on earth, Araia knew this was true as she rammed her sword into her opponent. Time seemed to stand still as she stared into his now human eyes. The iris was now light brown and clearly defined, winkles spread, marring the perfect skin of the beast before her. Turning him into a an old man in the space of thirty seconds as a soft sigh escaped his coarse throat Araia could see the humanity rush into him, the haunting memories of the terrible things he had done came rushing back to him as he took his first breath in hundreds of years and his last on this earth.

The final curse of the vampires, Araia sighed as she thought of what she would see in her last moments, there was no doubt that every vampire was consumed by guilt and self loathing in that moment. A horrible reminder of the monster they had become. She wondered if Hermione was aware of this, was she paying enough attention to notice? Would she question what she had to have seen? Would she cope with yet another burden on her young shoulders? Araia knew that whilst Hermione's outwards persona was that of a together young woman who was dealing well with recent events, inside she was no closer to accepting herself that she was when she had woken up in the manor all those weeks ago.

The dust was blown across the great hall as the survivors surveyed the great hall. Hermione and Severus only now realising that about two hundred members of their clan were almost completely responsible for their victory. In the heat of the battle they had only registered that they were wining not what was giving them the advantage that they shouldn't have had. Hermione tuned as her oversensitive hearing picked up a whimper from behind her, she saw Ron cowering in front of a very formidable looking Araia and nearly cried in relief at the old woman's ever youthful face.

" I believe this is one of yours" Araia said indicating to Ron by waving her sword in his direction, making him whimper again, Hermione could not help but think about what a terrible show of Gryffindor bravery it was.

"Y..Y..You know her" Ron managed to give the forced words an accusing tone as he looked at Hermione.

"Yes, and Ron she s not going to hurt you "

"Perhaps Miss Granger it would help if you explained what just occurred since it appears that you know more then I at this moment " although his words sounded like that of a kind old man the headmasters tone made it quite clear that he wanted answers.

The entire order was now gathered around Hermione, Severus was on the other side of the hall talking some of the clan members that had come to their rescue, for the first time that evening she was nervous. When Harry had disturbed her earlier she had been angry at the wasted opportunity, then she had been too busy fighting to think but now as her analytical mind began to calm enough to process the evenings events she was once again worried about the reactions of her friend to her knew 'family'.

"As you know we were just involved in a fight. The latest in an age old conflict between vampire clans. Araia" she gestured to the woman behind Ron "is a member of my clan Cravat and had been a great help to me lately. I can assure you that no-one here means you any harm." Hermione hoped she had pacified her audience to some extent.

"In fact I think we may be able to help each other" Araia spoke for the first time as she moved gracefully to stand next to Hermione and address the group. "We have a common problem that needs to be solved, Voldemort has begun to interfere in things meant for no human, however powerful, to see. With the experience in our clan and your magic and knowledge of the thing that was once Tom Riddle I think we could help each other."

"I think that is something we will have to discuss with everyone involved. This will take anywhere up to a week, in the mean time I would be glad to offer you guest quarters here at Hogwarts" Dumbledore seemed uncomfortable at having people more powerful than him in the room. He wanted to retreat to his office where he felt more secure but at the same time he knew he needed to exert his authority from the beginning. He did realise that no vampire would ever take orders from him if they did not agree with what he wanted them to do.

"Most kind of you headmaster." Araia bowed her head as was custom in vampire society. "I would like to talk to Hermione alone for a while perhaps she could show me to my room?"

And with that Hermione and Araia found themselves on the way to the Dungeons. Araia was to occupy a set of room of the corridor adjacent to that of Hermione's the headmaster had wanted to make her feel as welcome as possible and so had given her one of the nicest suites in the castle. As they descended the steps the pair talked about Hogwarts, Hermione reverting back into her know-it-all role gave the older lady a summary of Hogwarts a History answering any questions and enjoying having some who was interested as her in the history of such an amazing place.

Coming from a muggle background Hermione was always amazed by the wonders of magic, on arrival at Hogwarts she had wanted to know everything about her knew world and this had made her an overbearing and overenthusiastic student that pleased her Professors but annoyed and bored her peers leaving her without many friends. Harry and Ron had been such a breath of fresh air in her life, helping her to lighten up and relax more, something witch she had desperately needed. The golden trio, as they had been nicknamed, shared a seemingly unbreakable bond but in the last few months the foundations had begun to crack and Hermione found herself wondering how they were going to be mended but she was relived to find that she did want to try and fix what she felt she had broken.

Araia was pleased by her rooms, a small living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom all decorated in neutral tones that she found strangely appealing, of course they were nothing compared to her home at the manor but nevertheless she was pleased. She wondered if Hermione was going to talk about what was bothering her, they were both seated on a large leather sofa sipping hot chocolate made the muggle way as Hermione magic was still unpredictable. Hermione appeared lost in thought staring at the carpet and Araia knew it was best to let her speak in her own time; luckily she didn't have long to wait.

"I think I love him" Hermione whispered.

"Think or know?" Araia knew at once who she was taking about. She had seen them together, the natural closeness and almost constant physical contact made it obvious to her that their relationship was devolving.

Hermione was quiet again for a few moments before answering, she need time to gather her thoughts; "Know" she replied confidently, she accepted it and once Hermione Granger got an idea into her head it was only a matter of time before it came true.

Araia couldn't help but smile at that response, sometimes she could see herself in Hermione; it was one of thighs that made her so protective of her, that and the fact that she ad never had the chance to have children of her own and it was not everyday a young girl was changed into a vampire. The last time someone knew had joined was about fifty years ago and it was not someone that Araia could ever see herself caring about. This line of thought brought her around to an issue she knew needed to be discussed but she was wary of doing so before speaking to Severus after all it was his past and she thought he had the right to tell Hermione in his own time but some news had made it even more important that Hermione was told all the facts as soon as possible.

"Well dear why don't you tell me the story you're so obviously dying to" Araia chuckled as she said that, after all Hermione couldn't get much deader.

The next hour was taken up with Hermione telling Araia about the events at Hogwarts and Araia giving Hermione advice on how to handle said events. It was a very productive discussion that gave Hermione many ideas on how to re-build her friendship with Ron and Ginny. Araia expressed an interest in Harry, though Hermione wondered if that was as much to do with the war as it was what she had said about him.

Hermione was enjoying her chat with Araia, the old woman was like a mother to her, giving advice and expressing concern and elation at the appropriate moments during the tale. By the end of their talk Hermione was feeling at lot more clear about her feelings towards the various people in her life, she had used her time with Araia to reflect on her actions and those of Severus but try as she might she could not understand the complex puzzle that made up the man she loved. She was comfortable saying it now; she loved him and nothing he ever said was going to change that. In her mind she knew that it wouldn't be as easy as that though, she knew the sour man had a past that he was unwilling to talk about and she knew the walls he erected around his heart were going to take a long time to break through but she also knew that once she did he would be the most loyal and tender lover in the world she had already seen glimpses of his kinder side and she liked what she saw.

When the discussion came to a natural end Araia knew that it was time for Hermione to learn some more secrets of their race. Araia knew that Hermione would not appreciate being kept in the dark about certain thighs but she also knew that the young girl had had a lot to take in lately, adding to that burden had not been something she wanted to but if Hermione was serious about Severus she had to be informed of his past and his position within the clan. For how could she love someone if she did not know the terrible secrets of the past that impacted so strongly on the future she wanted to help build.

Severus had spent the afternoon trying to smooth relations between the vampire visitors and the order, no mean feat when you consider the irrational beliefs held by most of the most influential members. Some of the comments from the Weasleys were utterly ridiculous and sometimes downright offensive and always in no way helpful to Severus who was trying to keep the group calm and come to a reasonable solution that suited everyone, at that moment it was looking impossible.

After making the introductions in the great hall Severus had suggested that they move into the order headquarters, leaving the unfortunate house elves to try and erase the battle scars form the ancient hall. As they made their way down to the dungeons Severus had the chance to reflect on the events of the day, he had just fought in a battle inside the supposedly secure Hogwarts. He was worried about the breech of the castles wards, there was powerful magic guarding the castle and no one should have been able to gain access without the permission of the Headmaster. Severus was also thinking about the nature of the battle, he knew it was significant as it marked the merging of two great battles, one an ancient conflict that had claimed many lives and one that was started in rebellion against a madman who wanted nothing but absolute control over the world and was prepared to use the darkest magic to get it. Never before had these two wars crossed paths in such a dramatic way, Voldemort had approached all the clans and two had offered to support his cause but there had never been any confusion over which race was fighting which battle; now it seemed they were all fighting for their right to exist.

As they reached the Orders meeting room it became apparent that Severus was going to have a very big task on his hands. The four remaining vampires took the seats at one end of the table and the order conjugated at the other, leaving Severus in the middle. Albus was at the front, naturally taking his place as leader amongst the Order members whilst the vampires sat as equals something Severus believed showed their superiority; they all listened to what the other said thus giving them a greater understanding of the problem and more change of finding a solution.

Almost immediately the arguments began, the ever prejudiced Gryffindors leaving no one in any doubt as to where they stood on the matter.

"I do not want people like them inside Hogwarts" came the every Gryffindor voice of Ginny. Severus had wondered who would be the first to speak and was not surprised, he knew the girl had had some experience with Tom Riddle in her very first year but he failed to see why she now thought herself to be an expert on all things Voldemort, he had served him for years as both a loyal death eater and a spy and he still he did not claim to be able to predict what the insane creature he had once worshiped would do next.

"People like us?" one of the vampires, Hallet, sounded indignant as he turned his unique eyes to face the young red head. He was a tall thin man with jet black hair and a face that looked like it had seen its fair share of the war over the years. He was dressed in the traditional all black cloths, identical to the other vampires, who all wore the uniform to show their support of their clan and their loyalty to the cause.

"How do I know you won't kill us in our sleep. Trusting you means nothing to me!" came the equally indignant reply. Ginny sounded like a spoilt child as she sat surrounded by her family, like one big safety blanket. She knew they would not let any harm come to her so she could be a lot more bold than she would normally have been.

As Hallet stood up from the table chaos broke out in the room, people believing he was attempting to attack Ginny began to shout and the Weasleys gathered around the youngest. Severus just sat in his seat waiting for the immature shouting and bickering to cease, an unlikely event as it seemed obvious that no one was going to interfere. He looked to Albus, hoping the old man could control his followers, but was met only but the ever twinkling blue eyes and soft smile of the old wizard. Sometimes the headmaster was the most infuriating man on the planet, he seemed to know everything about everyone all the time and the omniscient behaviour irritated Severus above all others, he respected the man but also hated him. Albus had shown him forgiveness when no one else would but he had exploited that need for forgiveness, using it to gain information seemingly uncaring about the mans life he risked to gain the precious news. Severus had been made a pawn in Albus's grand plan and he hated himself for not realising it sooner. The old man knew some of Severus' tragic past and Severus knew that he had no problems manipulating the fact in an attempt to get Severus to do whatever he wanted, Severus also knew that it would not work. In the past he had let himself be manipulated just to know that he was needed for something, it was a way of knowing that he was useful in the war against Voldemort, that he could make a difference , now he didn't care. He had Hermione and was once again part of the clan that had rejected him and nothing, not even Albus Dumbledore could change that. He was shaken from his thoughts by a curse flying past his shoulder.

"ENOUGH!" anyone that had ever sat in his potions classroom would know that voice, it was the one reserved for dunderheads like Longbottom, they also knew that when Severus Snape was that pissed of the best thing to do was to close your mouth and run for cover. At that moment however only one option was available; silence filled the once noisy room as everyone froze. They looked like status, all in various states of duelling and in the case of Harry, physical combat. In any other situation Severus would have laughed at the sight of Minerva McGonagall engaged in a fierce duel with a vampire, her normally strict hair was out of place, falling about her face, her robes were torn in several places and she was out of breath, a far cry from the stern head of house that she normally was.

Severus was horrified to think that these were the people responsible for winning a war, at that moment they looked like a bunch of school kids brawling on the playground not an underground group of rebels. For that was how Severus saw the order of the phoenix, he was under no delusions about the seriousness of their task. He had once thought that he wouldn't live to see the end of the war but now he was determined to live, it was a strange feeling, hope, it was something that he had never experienced before and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"I'm probably going to regret this but I'm going leave now and when I come back I want to see the mature people I know are here somewhere ready to talk and discuss this like adults." With that he turned and executed his powerful exit from the room with precision, sending shivers down the spines of everyone in the room, somehow making even the people considerably older then him feel like students caught misbehaving in class.

Araia and Hermione were on the move again, to Severus' quarters. Hermione did not know why they were going, Araia had told her that she was curious about the mans rooms but Hermione was sure there was another reason. The afternoon had seen a great weight lifted from her shoulders, the older woman was a great listener and for the first time in weeks Hermione felt at ease with her feeling but now Araia was acting strangely, as if she knew something bad was going to happen. She was now quiet and withdrawn as if she was reliving a great tragedy and this left Hermione with a feeling of dread as they reached the forbidding door to what Hermione somehow knew was going to change her life yet again.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10 - the boy in the cold._

_Emargianti:- _

_Emargianti is the name given to a vampire born to a human, usually a muggle woman unaware of the nature of her lover or that of her child. They are the rarest of our kind, an elite order that makes them supremely powerful and extremely dangerous. They are not known to associate with the rest of society, creating a certain mystery around them. The word Emargianti is Italian for outcast and that is effectively what they are; they cannot live amongst humans and they are viewed as half breeds by the vampire clans. The muggles that bore them often become their first victims, usually in a fit of violent hatred born of isolation and resentment. _

_The first recorded case was in 1124AD when a vampire of the __Scelero clan mated with a human named Melissa Bedoire, a peasant girl of French decent living in a small village outside London. The product of their union was a girl named Allayna, meaning 'light', giving the impression the Melissa was unaware of the nature of her daughters farther. _

_It is believed that Allayna is now the leader of the Emargianti and lives with about 500 others in a remote castle in Russia, nothing is known of the fate of her farther but her mother was found dead in her house on Allayna's eighteenth birthday; the day the Emargianti come into their powers. We cannot say if they are living dead as the vampires are or if they live an extended live as a human vessel for their demon, the nature of which I not known but speculation by leading researchers says that they are extremely intelligent and powerful beings. _

The book in her lap hook along with her hands as Hermione read. Severus had thrust the book into her hands as she and Araia entered the rooms._ As if he knew she was _coming, knew what she had come to learn. It was rather unnerving for Hermione to be the only one in the room that didn't know what was going on, she felt like a small child in a room of adults waiting for something to be explained so she could understand it. It was defiantly not a feeling she enjoyed and this was one of the main factors contributing to her 'know-it-all' persona during her time at Hogwarts, it had also been due to a genuine love of learning and a need to prove herself but feeling stupid was not something Hermione Granger liked and sitting in that armchair on that afternoon she felt stupid. She knew there was something going on that she had not been told about and felt that she should have worked it out, no that she would have been able to as the information she would need was all in people's minds and a few books that defiantly could not be found in the school. It was an irrational fear, she knew she could not know everything but it was one of her greatest weaknesses and some would say her greatest strength.

As she read she could feel Severus's eyes on her, he seemed determined not to look at Araia, who was sitting opposite Hermione whilst Severus paced in fort of the fire adjacent to both ladies. He was as anxious as she had ever seen him, not surprising considering the day they'd had. Hermione did not need to be told of the problems between the vampire visitors and the Order members after all she had know theses people for years and was well aware of their closed minded views on people who were different to the selves. She also knew that Severus was not a patient man, waiting was not something he did well and anyone who'd ever sat in his class could testify to the fact that when pissed off the dark sullen potions master was very frightening. This lead to Severus's rhythmic pacing in front of the raging fire, the only source of heat in the dungeon room. He was waiting for Hermione to finish reading but at the same time wising shed never finish so that he didn't have to share his tale with her.

He was a private man by nature, preferring to be alone that seek out the company of those he knew would never accept him and refusing to open up to those who did. As he paced in front of the fire he was once again lost in thought, would Hermione run from him when she found out the truth? Would she ever look at him with the devoted look in her eyes that he had come to cherish? As his brain bombarded itself with questions he became aware that time was up; Hermione had finished reading and was looking up at him with a curious look in her eyes. It was time.

"My mother was a lady named Polly. She was a wonderful lady, always smiling." Severus was till pacing as he let the words spill from his lips, unable to stop now even if he wanted to, fighting to his voice even, not wanting to betray any of his emotions until afterwards.

"She was a witch, muggle born. She attended Hogwarts in 1909 and was the most intelligent witch in her year, achieving outstanding on all of her NEWTS a record that you were the first person to break. " he looked at Hermione, watching the fascination on her face as she clung to his every world.

"Although she was a smart woman she was terrible naïve, not one for social events or boyfriends she was the perfect target for the less honourable to lavish their affections on. One night in her final year at school she had a strange dream, a man was taking to her but she couldn't understand what he was saying, his voice washed over her drowning her. We know from the school records that she was given dreamless sleep potions almost weekly for a period of four months, January to May of 1916. It appeared that she was just having dreams brought on by the stress of the studies, the med witch at the time thought nothing of it; they all assumed it was nightmares that would pass soon. They were wrong." it was here that Severus stopped, partly for dramatic effect and partly to regain his composure, he took a seat in between Hermione and Araia, creating a triangle. He wanted to sit to keep his legs form buckling as he told the most harrowing part of the tale. It was not an easy thing to do, speaking about your mother as it she were a character in a book instead of a real person who had lived and given birth to him. There were very few people who knew the full story behind Severus life, and only two of those were outside the clan, Dumbledore and Severus's farther, one had been told the tale and the other was responsible for the whole mess in the first place.

"In her journals she describes hi as ruggedly handsome with a dark face and stunningly pale skin, she says his eyes were all black something she accepted as an inherited condition, which I suppose in a way it was. She writes of how he soon became the most important thing in her world, seducing her with flowers and poems false declarations of love and lies. She gave him her virginity on her last night at Hogwarts, the only thing in her journal that does not have any emotions attached to it. Just one lone statement that signifies the contraception of her child; a boy who she named Severus Snape after his farther. She never saw him again until the boy was three years old; he came to the house one night and slit her throat while she read him a bedtime story." Hermione's sharp intake of breath told him to pause for a moment. There were tears in her eyes as she gazed at his sallow face, from her face he got the impression that she wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and sob into his robes.

This was turning into a much harder afternoon than Araia had planned, she knew that Hermione would find this a hard thing to deal with but she could see the young girls heart breaking for Severus with each word. When Araia had been fist heard Severus' story she had been upset it was the natural reaction but she had not tried to comfort him, she had known he would not welcome it from her. Maybe it had not affected her so much as she had not had any feelings for the dark man at that time and even now she only felt friendship for him; after her talk with Hermione earlier she had no doubt that the young girl loved him and from the way he was acting around her she would put money on him feeling the same. She decided that it was better to let them carry on alone, she could see that Hermione wanted to comfort him and she knew from experience that he would not allow her to in front of another person and that he deeply needed whatever love she was offering.

With that thought Aria looked at Hermione, conveying her message accurately and rose to leave. Hermione was eternally grateful to the old woman at that moment and the moment she was out of the door she ran to Severus, settling in his lap and clinging to him allowing the tears to fall from her eyes, leaving salty tracks on her flawless skin. She took comfort in him and hoped that he found some comfort in her.

For his part Severus was glad that Araia had left when she had for he din not know how long he could go on hiding his emotions. He found that he wanted to show Hermione his feelings, something he had never felt the urge to do with anyone. He was raised to believe that emotions were a sign of weakness and that keeping a distance and becoming closed off were the only ways to survive and unfortunately his experiences in life had so far only reinforced this misguided belief. When Hermione came to him he was eternally grateful for the comfort she gave, something no one else had ever offered him before. He knew she was crying and it hurt him to think that she was crying for him; wasting her precious tears on a bitter old man, though he knew she wouldn't say that he couldn't help but doubt her. Everyone in his life had let him down at some point; form the mother who didn't love him enough to protect him to the farther that killed her and the people that had bullied him and called him names at school and tried to kill him as an adult. Potter and Black filled him with rage the moment he thought of them, he felt Hermione raise her head to look at him and knew that the tensing of his muscles had not gone unnoticed by the beautiful saviour curled in his lap. Instead of trying to explain himself he decided to continue with his story.

"I cannot remember her face at all only her voice as she read to me. My farther was a cold man, a bloodthirsty vampire and a coward. His name is Fury Snape and he is the last son of Calatios and Adrianna. He turned away from his father's way of life when he was just seventeen, choosing like most sons to raise his own clan only he does not lead like his farther he leads like a tyrant. As I have said he is a cold man and does not care for anyone but himself. As far as I am aware I am his only child but I cannot be sure; he has many lovers that may have born him children over the years. I grew up at his castle in Norway, under the eyes of a governess who was almost as cold hearted as my farther himself."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Hermione cried as she peppered kisses on his face trying to get as close to him as possible, tears were once again spilling from her eyes but these were tears of anger towards the people who had hurt the wonderful man before her.

"You have done nothing, clam yourself" he repeated again and again as he stroked her hair. She seemed so fragile in his arms but he knew just a few hours earlier she had bee magnificent in the battle. Fighting just as he had taught her, proud and strong in her determination to win, for her life and the life of her friends; he almost chuckled as he thought that even now she was a creature of the night she was still the fearless Gryffindor that she had always been; willing to do anything for the people she loved.

"What was it like there?" she asked in a soft voice, no that the initial shock was over she wanted to know everything about him; to think of a way to make it better and heal the wounds that fate had dealt him.

"It was cold, in every sense of the word. The weather was always cold the castle was always cold no matter how many blankets I used I would always be cold. The people were cold, uncaring and unfeeling towards the little half breed that lived in the dungeons. The castle was cold, no colour only grey brick walls and a few pieces of pain wood furniture. My room was in the dungeons, the only part of the castle my farther saw fir for me. I had a small room, adequate for my needs and a bathroom and a sitting room. There was no need for me to venture up into the castle unless I was called for. My food was brought down to me. I loved to read, I was allowed books from the library and I began to tech myself things."

"You said you were born in 1916 but you went to Hogwarts in the 70s." Hermione's quick brain had picked up on that and was curious.

"As you know from what you read earlier not much is know about Emargianti and I am even more un usual that them for my mother was a witch. I am the only person ever too born of a vampire and witch and thus no one knew that my ageing process would be slowed. I attended Hogwarts in 1974 and I although I had already been on this earth for 58 years I looked no older that the other children in my year. I remained small for the next six years, one of the reasons I was picked on so much but in my seventh year when I came of age I grew to the height you see now in almost a year and I have only aged about seven years in the thirty three that have passed since. In the last few years I have no aged at all and I am likely not to do so again, as any normal vampire would."

"Let me get this straight you're actually ninety one years old but you look about thirty? I supposed I will reach that point myself in time. I cannot begin to imagine all the things you have seen, I mean just think of the;-"

"Hermione, slow down dear, you're babbling." Severus was quite amused by the rapid speech she had just given, his amusement was added to when ha saw the embarrassed look on her face, making her bury her head in his robes once again. He tightened his arms around her as he realised that she had made him feel happy even during one of the most difficult things he had ever had to do. She really was an amazing creature.

Hermione was only slightly embarrassed to get caught babbling it was something that she only did when she was nervous and she was amazed at how comfortable she felt around him not when she was a student she would never of dreamed but now it like he was a different man and it was something she was very glad about. It was almost impossible for her to remember being back in potions class with the intimidating professor, he was such a complex man and now she was begging in to understand why he acted the way he did towards students. She was beginning to get the feeling that he was much more sensitive that he appeared. Had he ever been loved? If not she was going to make sure he knew he was loved every day, for the rest of eternity if that was how long it took for him to believe it.

"What you thinking about?" Severus spoke softly, a tone he rarely used.

"This morning" she replied, her voice was muffled by his robes.

"Yes the battle was not wholly unexpected by then again we should always be prepared for something like this. You fought well, I was impressed." Severus was a little shocked at the chance of direction this conversation was taking and to make matters worse he still hadn't finished his story.

She laughed; the soft was like medicine to his demon that was still restless from the fight, "Not the battle, before that"

"Ah." as he spoke memories flooded his mind. He pulled her closer into his embrace, trying to let her know that he cared without actually having to say it, it was typical male behaviour. Luckily for him Hermione understood his message and snuggled deeper into his lap.

"Finish your story" Hermione was not lot more comfortable and felt she was protected against the harsh world that had tainted the only man to ever make her feel safe.

"After I had left Hogwarts I was approached by Calatios, he is my grandfather and any option was better than returning to my farther as he had requested. He seemed so different from anyone I had ever known like he genuinely cared about what happened to me. At least that's what I thought until he asked me to help out Albus Dumbledore, he asked me to become a spy. So I joined the dark lords ranks, I got in touch with an acquaintance from school who had graduated a few years before me and I was introduced by Lucius Malfoy and ever since then I've been working for Voldemort, Dumbledore and my grand farther. We have been trying to unite the five clans to stand against Voldemort but we know that at least two have sided with him and the others are unlikely to get involved with mortals conflicts until it s a direct threat to them. The dark lord is a cruel master but at least he is honest in his intentions, he used crucio a lot but at least he does not mess with the minds of his followers. The only good thing that came out of meeting my grand farther was meeting my grand mother Adrianna is a wonderful woman, she is always willing to listen to me and I know she does not approve of my treatment or the actions of her estranged son but she is not a strong woman. She made her objections known at first but she was not persistent in her campaign. She, like everyone else gave up on me when i needed her the most.

Hermione was filled with rage towards the people that had hurt him; they had used him in the worst way possible. The clan leader was someone she was supposed to respect and Dumbledore was someone that she had respected for years and they had both betrayed the trust of a lonely boy who was crying out to be loved. She wondered if Calatios had ever tired to talk to his grandson, he obviously knew of his existence but did he really care about the man.

Severus knew what she was thinking and to be honest he couldn't blame her, he had let himself be used by his grand farther and he knew why; he wanted to be needed by someone. Albus had told him that he would be important to the order as he knew that Severus wouldn't be able to turn down the chance to be needed by someone, no matter how rude he was or how mean he behaved the order would still need him and that was something he had never known.

"I need you, you know?" Hermione whispered as she ran her fingers over his forehead. She knew that he needed to know and it was important for her to say it.

"I need you to" he whispered back, his voice breaking on the last word as she saw a tear escape his eye. The tight rein he held on his emotions had broken and he could not stop the flood of tears that appeared in his eyes nor could he stop the desperate sobs as he clung to Hermione.

It was the first time he had really cried in his whole life and it felt good. He took comfort in her arms as she had done in his many times over the last few weeks. He was soothed by her voice, she did not tell him is was all going to be ok choosing to tell him that it was ok because she was here and she was not going to leave him, he was relaxed by her soft hands running through his hair. They stayed curled up in the chair until he fell into a deep sleep, head resting on her willing shoulder. She could not help but smile at the look of peace on his face.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Another short chapter but it just felt like the right place to stop. Hope everyone is enjoying this fic, thanks to everyone who takes the time to review it really means a lot.

Chapter 11

The wind howled through the trees as the wolves sang their salute to the moon, the forest was a dark place, dense trees filtered out what little daylight there was and the thorns got more bloodthirsty the deeper you went, protecting the small hut at the centre.

The hut was in the only clearing in the whole of the hundred acre forest and it was no more than ten meters in size and the only thing that occupied it was the small wooded hut, which looked like it should have fallen over years ago. It was not imposing nor was it wonderful but it was vital. For inside the hut was a trap door leading to an underground world; this was a place that was responsible for the descriptions of hell in the bible and other muggle religious texts. It was lit only by old fashioned flaming torches that sat in rusted iron holders along the rough moss covered stone walls. The flames caused the light to flicker, the smallest rat casting a terrifyingly imposing shadow. This was the place where evil lived; this was the home of Statim.

The savage clan had lived in the vast network of caves and tunnels for as long as they had existed, choosing to live underground instead of in castles and houses like the other clans. Although this place was very different to the manor house that Hermione had spent the summer in it was no less magnificent. The caves that were used as dwellings all contained the most amazing artefacts and painting form the most prestigious artists that had ever lived. A lush world hiding the savage truth of the killers that dwelled in the darkness, killing anyone who entered the forest and terrorising the villages that surrounded it.

A harsh scream erupted from the deepest cavern breaking through the eerie silence that had descended in hell since the return of the messenger form the team sent to Hogwarts. Had he been sensible he would have run as far away as possible instead of returning to face certain death at the hands of his master. Vexatious was an unforgiving ruler who did not accept mistakes, he was the one the legend of Dracula was based on; kidnapping muggles and trapping them in his hell for his own perverse pleasure was something he devoted mush of his time to. The rest of his efforts were spend on the war, he had openly sided with Voldemort but he did not share the same ideals, Vexatious wanted to rule the world and did not intend to let a half-blood wizard, no matter how powerful, stop him. Voldemort was a mean to an end for Vexatious, one he did not mind sacrificing to reach his goals, however for the time being he would play along with the mad mans schemes and that involved the destruction of Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore, of course it helped that the mistake one of his children had made was living there. He had been furious when he heard of his son's attempts to turn the mud blood, of course he knew about her connection to the Potter boy but he had never wanted her turned and he had never given his permission, to make matters worse the girl had been made even more powerful by the mixing of the blood. He had know idea what she was capable of now and he was still fuming; he knew she should be his, he would have trained her to be a killer like she should be and he had no doubt that she would be an amazing fighter. Instead she was in the hands of the old fool Calatios and his traitor of a grand son.

The Snape boy was fast becoming a problem for Vexatious; he had turned away from Fury's views and become a very dangerous and ruthless killer. The old leader knew that Fury wanted his son back; the boy had been easily swayed away from his over bearing father. All it had taken was a few choice words and the promise of marriage to one of his grand daughters that Fury wanted for his own and it had been done. He had not counted on the boy, Fury had not told him of the witch he had bedded until the boy was almost three, he had ordered the mother killed and the boy brought to the castle he had bestowed upon his son- in- law as a wedding gift. The boy was dangerous, everyone knew that, an Emargianti born of magical blood was almost unheard of and the boy's mother had been a very powerful mud blood passing her power on her son. The boy was kept in the castle until his Hogwarts letter arrived; Fury had insisted he go thinking it would make him more powerful and therefore a greater asset to their side he had no counted on his father getting hold of the boy. Now it seemed the boy was hardly ever seen without the company of the Granger girl, two extremely powerful and unique vampires combining their power was something Vexatious considered a threat to his clan, he need to defeat them quickly so that he could being to accumulate the necessary assets to defeat his rivals and to do that he needed the help of the man sitting next to him.

Platio was the leader of Scelero, the only clan that Statim had any relations with. As tow of the five originals they had known each other for generations, both were power hungry but Platio had a disadvantage, he loved his daughter, the girl who was the thing of myths, the original Emargianti and no one knew that Allayna was the only daughter born to one of the original five, they all had four sons and some of them had had daughters but she was the only one directly descended from an original. Another little known fact was that Allayna was blessed with the power to see the future. She lived alone with her clan of Emargianti but was never able to refuse her father anything he asked of her.

The scream that had been heard was from the mouth of Alexius, Vexations' youngest son. The boy had refused to obey an order from his farther and Vexatious was using him as a torture toy for himself and Platio as they discussed their plan. It was not something either of them liked to do but they had to put a little trust in each other if they wanted to win, then they could stab each other in the back and see who surrenders first and gets to lead the new world they hoped to create.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When Hermione awoke the next morning she found that her back was stiff and she was being help by Severus Snape, in her opinion it was the best way to wake up, that was until she remembered the events of the previous day. She had witnessed the breakdown of Severus and she was livid with the people responsible for his pain. How could they use him like that? The true nature of their betrayal was just beginning to hit her, she had been preoccupied with making sure he was okay but now she was able to think about the ramifications of his tale.

She had doubt that he deserved love and happiness in his life but from what he had told her she could see why he felt he didn't. No one had ever sat and talked to him; no one had ever wanted him for him nor for some other purpose and that made her heart ache. He had so mush to offer the world and it was wasted spying on an evil man who had not qualms about torturing his followers as harshly as he would his enemies, at the request of two old men who both lived in their own little worlds. She could not decide who was more to blame but she knew that they all need to pay for what they had done. She now lost all the faith she once had in Albus Dumbledore, the once wise old man was now just an eccentric old fool who was no doubt powerful but was totally out of touch with the world and was very good at manipulating people in to doing exactly what he wanted them to do.

She was still fuming silently when Severus began to stir his head moving from its position in her lap. She couldn't remember when they swapped position only that she had woken at one point to transfigure the arm chair into a bed. His arms were still around her she loved being held by someone so powerful and knowing that he trusted her enough to sleep in front of her was very special to her however she was worried about how he would react this morning, she knew he didn't like being seen as vulnerable and she had probably been the first person to see him cry in a very long time, if not ever.

His eyes opened and he opened his mouth to speak, he found after the first attempt that his throat was dry and sore from the night before and he guessed that his eyes were red. Hermione thought that he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, lying on her lap with tear tracks dried on his face, looking the most relaxed she had ever seen him. She was about to use her wand to conjure something to sooth his throat when she noticed him pointing to a cabinet across the room. Gently sliding herself out from under him she crossed the room, recognising the cabinet as a traditional potions cabinet. As she bent down to open the door she was surprised by the detailed carvings on the wood, she guessed it was depicting some sort of battle of war but she didn't know enough about the origins of the piece to know which battle, magical of muggle, it would be. as Hermione ran her fingers over the figure of a woman, blood was pouring from her head as she cradled the baby in her arm, she felt a tingle run through her, like a small electric shock but not unpleasant. It was a tragic image but in some way Hermione found it beautiful, the bond between the mother and the child was unbreakable. She shook her head to clear it as memories of her own mother came back to her. Hermione had not spoken to either of her parents since she had received their letter and as much as she missed them she didn't know if she could, forgive them for hurting her like that.

"Did you feel something?" Severus weak voice form behind her snapped her out of her trance, he sounded a little better but was still in dire need of the potion she was supposed to be getting for him. Without answering him she proceeded to rummage through his previously neatly organised potions. She didn't see Severus grimace as she knocked a few bottles over in her haste to heal him, he knew she was amazing at potions and she was normally a very neat person but he could see the worry on her face and chose no to tease her about it.

Finally she got her hand on the bottle she was looking for and she went back to join Severus, re claming the place she had abandoned on her search for the potion. Once he had drunk the soft pink potion his head re claimed its pace on her lap and he repeated his earlier question.

"When you touched the cabinet did you feel something?" He seemed anxious as he looked up at her, his eyes holding a quality that Hermione could not name but was struck by the intensity of it.

"Yes, a kind of tingle" Hermione was concentrating on his face as she said it, watching his eyes fill with pride as his had reached up to softly stroke her cheek, his hands were soft and his fingers were cold, when he reached her full pink lips he ran his finger suggestively over them sending another shiver down her spine; this one born of arousal rather than the history in his cabinet.

The tension was broken by her soft laugh as she leant down to lay her lips over his. Their first kiss was everything it should be, soft and loving. Hermione was no virgin but she was not used to the intimacy of that moment, the muggle boy she had slept with was only after one thing and she had not felt and love or compassion in their heated fumble, if she was honest she had not seen what all the fuss was about and had only moaned in pain as her innocence was taken. Severus had never had this with anyone, he had needs like any man but usually sated them with his hand or a trip to Madame Lane's in Knockturn ally, as he had never allowed was letting his hired whores kiss him, making the feel of Hermione's lips against his all the more special. Slowly he turned so that he was half on top of her without breaking their kiss he began to run his hands over her sensuous curves. The pair was perfectly content in their little world, oblivious to the castle around them, forgetting all about the people Severus had left the day before in the meeting rooms. There they stayed all morning, never going any further than kissing and some touching through clothes but loving every moment of it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Well I think she's mad" Ron's voice carried across the room and he ducked his head in embarrassment as several people turned to look at him. He and Ginny were huddled in the corner of the meeting room, a common occurrence these days, they were discussing Hermione's friendship with Snape. Neither could understand why Hermione would want to be friends with the great bat that had made their lives hell for seven years.

"I just wonder if friendship is all they share" Ginny added, faking a shudder as she planted the idea in her brothers head knowing that he would believe it without any proof and it would probably be the one thing he could not forgive Hermione for. She wanted her brother away from Hermione and Harry now, she had a plan and she was going to whatever it takes to get Harry Potter into her heart and more importantly into her bed.

"You don't think? No! Hermione would not do that with him." Ron's face was almost the same shade as his hair as his mind filled with dirty images of his professor and the woman he believed to be the love of his life in various positions, including, surprisingly, the potions classroom.

Now she knew she had him and she knew that she was going to get what she wanted and for that Hermione had to be out of the equation; for good.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N - I am SO sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I've had my first AS level exams and although I love writing my education has to come first.

I wanna thank everyone who took the time to review and especially those who gave me constructive criticisms. I don't know what I'm doing wrong unless you tell me and I'm always open to suggestions and will do my best to take them into account. I have tried to make the paragraphs easier to read in this chapter and I know my spelling is bad (it always has been) but I am trying.

ENJOY

Eventually September turned into October , Hermione remained at Hogwarts along with the rest of the order. Life had settled into a routine, and although Ron and Ginny were not talking to her. Hermione was content. She still had to drink blood from Severus to survive but it was done discreetly in his chambers, she knew that there were members of the order who were uncomfortable around her and she didn't want to add to the problem by flaunting her true nature in front of them.

It wasn't that she was ashamed of what she was, far from it, she was just afraid to rock the boat. Privately however she was growing more and more comfortable with the demon inside her. She told no-one but Severus of the connection she now felt, it was as though she was finally beginning to find peace within herself. He had assured her right from the beginning that it would happen but she had never imaged the true implications of his words.

She was attending daily lessons with Araia, who had decided to stay on at Hogwarts for a while, were helping her understand her newfound heritage, the thousands of years of history were fascinating and Hermione was finding that no matter what changes she had undergone she was still the overachieving bookworm. She was making good progress with the customs and rituals that she would be expected to uphold. Araia also taught her Latin and Italian adding to her knowledge of French and German which she had been forced into learning at the muggle school she had attended.

The peace she now felt was responsible for the way she now fought, using a devolving physical skill, abnormal strength and now her magic to give her an edge. She could fight with her eyes closed due to her newfound awareness and evolved senses.

She was loving every minuet of it, the thrill of the fight left her tingling for hours afterwards, she was becoming a true Vampire. The way her fists felt like steel when they hit her opponent with deadly accuracy. She had an advantage over everyone she knew, she had the skill and strength of a true creature of the night and the well above average magical skill she already possessed. It was a truly deadly combination that had everyone in the Cravat mansion whispering like giddy schoolgirls discussing the latest gossip.

The excitement only increased when it was announced that Hermione and Severus would return to the mansion with Araia for Halloween. It was going to be the event of the centaury, the many clan members that did not live at the house were called and those that did set about organising the necessary items for the rituals that would take place at midnight; the gateway between all hallows eve and all saints day, the most sacred night of the year for all the clans.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxxX

It was a matter of days until Hermione's departure, she was going to stay at the manor for the week of Halloween which had luckily fallen on a Wednesday.

On the last Friday before she left Hermione decided that she was going to surprise Severus in his chambers. He had had a hard week teaching the students that he swore were getting dumber. They had barely had any time together over the last two weeks and Hermione was fed up of having to put her relationship behind their work for the order, Albus had been adamant that they all met every evening. He had seem deeply shaken but the attack on Hogwarts even though as far as they knew it had nothing to do with Voldemort hence the daily planning sessions and the many hours spent pouring over maps and ancient texts, searching for anything, any hint of how to help Harry in his darkest hour.

Hermione knew from late night talks that, despite his brave face and soft smile Harry was not coping well with the task that had been so cruelly forced onto him. He was especially destroyed by Ron's refusal to talk to him, the person who had been his friend, his guide through the magical world and most importantly a part of the first family to every treat him as their own. Ron's avoidance had soon spread to the other Weasleys and with a few choice words from Ginny none of them were willing to spare more than a smile for the boy who lived.

Hermione was not as bothered by this as Harry, she had Severus and that was more than enough for her. The dark wizard was becoming the most important person in her life. Sure he was grumpy and harsh but she was beginning to see the man that lied underneath the many layers of black and everyday she was falling more and more for that man. Sure he was still brutally honest but he was also fiercely intelligent.

Hermione's mind drew her back to a moment about a week before, she had waited in his chambers for him after his final class, she could tell when he walked though the door that he was pissed off. She took one look at him and practically ran to him engulfing his into her arms. She felt his muscles stiffen and then relax as he fell into her, only her supernatural strength keeping them upright, she felt his face change just before she felt his extended teeth break the soft skin of her neck.

It was pure heaven, ecstasy coursing through her veins giving life to un-beating heart. It was erotic and intimate, mind bogglingly sexy yet amazingly simple. She was feeling more now than she ever had and it was no surprise to her that it was Severus that made the whole experience blissful.

She was unaware of his hand in her hair, stroking her way down his back gripping his firm arse. The evidence of his arousal came when he shifted slightly, his rock hard member pushing into her thigh causing a gasp to escape her lips.

The sound broke the spell on them and Severus suddenly lifted her in his arms, running into his bedroom, slamming her onto his bed. As she hit the soft mattress she saw a smirk cross his thin lips. Anticipation filled her, rushing straight to her core. Her panties were soaked and she could see his cock threatening to burst from its prison.

Thinking she would help him she reached up to his belt but as she started to undo it she was flung backwards, leaving her laying flat against the mattress looking up at him as she realised her hands and feet were tide to the bedposts. He laughed openly now, the dark sinful sound filled the room with its rich emotions. Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about this, it was new territory to her, but the moment he touched her she gave up on any thoughts concentrating instead on the feeling of his feather light touch that had now reached the top of her thigh.

Severus was pleasantly surprised when she offered no protest to his actions, this was a darker side of sex that he knew she had never tried before. He had waited for weeks to act on his growing feeling for her and now she was here he was going to enjoy it every much.

He advanced on her, running his hand lightly up her thigh feeling her shiver in anticipation as he reached his destination. Although her flesh was dead and cold he felt a great warmth wash over him as he stroked her wet folds under her skirt. A lovely pale blue skirt that was soon torn and thrown across the room as both its occupants found themselves naked in the candle light.

The sex was rough, Severus biting her in multiple places, none hurting enough to be painful but just enough to add that extra dimension to her pleasure. Her need had reached an unbearable level, pulling against her bonds unable, despite her strength, to free herself. She was crying and screaming in incoherent waves of sound when Severus finally thrust into her.

Silence filled the room, he filled her completely, buried to the hilt he stared into her eyes, seeing nothing but love reflected back at him he began to move within her. His slow thrusts became more and more violent as he pounded her into the mattress.

Hermione had never felt anything quite like this before, it was like her demon was on fire. A sensation so intense that it brought her to a climax in a matter of moments. Her demon loose and aggressive as her face changed with a roar. Demon and human, witch and vampire in one moment of pure bliss, acting in tandem for this first time in history. It was something that should never have happened and it was testament to the love shared between these lovers that it was possible at all.

Severus was not far behind her, spilling his dead seed into her useless womb. He almost blacked out from the sensations running through his mind. His demon was screaming "Mate Mate Mate" over and over again. He knew that his demon wanted her as much as his human side did but he had never had the desire to claim a mate before and he refused to do it without her permission.

The claming process was like marriage, it bound them tighter in an irreversible blood link. It was a complex ritual and one that involved the exchange of blood during sex, most defiantly something he would not do without Hermione's understanding and acceptance. He knew it was something that would take a long time for him to bring up, he was a shy man and this was the same a proposing to her. Something he'd never envision himself doing.

That being said, his demon was till crying out for it when he collapsed on top of her. Freeing her hands as he did so. He feel into a relaxed sleep as he felt he curl into him, wrapping her thin arms around him.

They were both asleep in moments. Wrapped in their cocoon of body parts and blankets, two monsters painting the most beautiful picture in the world.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N - You are benefiting from the wonderful SNOW DAY, it's the only reason this chapter is finished so quick. The last one was short I know but it felt like something that had to set on its own.

I want to apologise again for the delay but I'm back to writing now and updates should be about every two weeks.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews I have received, they really do make me happy!!!

ENJOY

She stirred, her arms felt heavy and stiff and it wasn't until she remembered the previous nights activities that she realised why. Severus, the single word left her lips as she reached out to touch his face. The nose he was so self conscious about , it was large but Hermione thought it fitted his angular face perfectly.

Perfect, a word she never thought she would use in relation to her sour potions professor. He made her life hell for seven years of her life and until she had left the school she had never seen the other side of him, it was when she had first begun to work for the order of the phoenix that she had seen him as a man, she still hadn't liked him but she had respected him.

Then last summer when her whole world was falling apart he was the only one still there, the one holding her together as everything she'd worked towards crumbled. He was the one who picked her up when her parents let her down, the reassuring touch on the shoulder when other order members refused to look at her.

She had come to love him more than she had ever though possible, she had love for Harry but it was a different type of love. The love she held for the man laying next to her was a burning passion, a roaring volcano bubbling up inside her threatening to burst from her at any moment. What's more she was pretty sure that he felt the same way, after last night she was almost certain that he felt something towards her.

They had become very close over the last few months and she knew he would not have exposed himself to her like that if he wasn't sure she was worth the effort. This was not what she had expected when she had waited in his rooms the previous evening but it was something she had wanted for a long time.

As she laid there, basking in the wonderful warmth that seemed to seep into her, she contemplated the recent developments in their relationship. She was scared and intrigued by the sudden fast forward in their relationship. Until last night they had kept it all very slow and careful. By the time she had come to the end of her thought Severus had rolled over so that she could feel him against every part of her body, laying along side him Hermione decided that she wanted this every morning and every one who had ever met her had said that once Hermione Granger put her mind to something the world better watch out.

Another thing Severus had going for him was the amazing, mind blowing and erotic sex. Hermione had spent years in a shared dorm room hearing about boys from Lavender and she could now say that Severus was most defiantly a man. A very, very sensual man. Hermione had often thought about experimenting with sex but the muggle boys she had been with but they had been just that; boys. Now she had a man who was going to teach her everything about the darker side of passion and she found herself almost shaking with anticipation.

She had always thought of herself as a bossy person who had to be in charge of everything so to be tied up at someone else's, mercy was an amazing thrill. No, her mind interrupted it would only work with Severus, he was the only one she trusted to see her vulnerable side and it did make her feel vulnerable. She gave herself completely to him last night and he hadn't left or laughed at her he had seemed in awe of her and she loved him for it. From her past the worst feeling she could remember was people laughing at the know-it-all. It was a feeling she never wanted to experience again and one she knew she now that she would never get from Severus.

She was still contemplating her actions, her critical mind analysing all her decisions, when Severus began to stir next to her. She stared at him intently, watching his morning routine. The last time they had shared a bed she hadn't bothered to pay attention to this and it was testament to how far they had come that she wanted to know everything about him and more importantly she wanted him to know everything about her.

As he began to feel consciousness seeping into his mind Severus was disappointed at the loss of a wonderful dream. However his disappointment only lasted a minuet as he stretched bumping against another body. "Hermione" he sighed burying her head in her stomach biting softly with his flat teeth, it was the only physical way he knew of expressing the way his demon was feeling, kissing her would have shown his affection but it was important to him for her to know that every part of him wanted and loved her.

He had never done this before, he had never loved anyone since his mother was taken from him. A young boy who's only source of love was torn form him, in many ways he was still that boy. Somewhere inside him, inside the horrors he had witness, outside all the roles he played he was just a boy who wanted to be loved.

As if she had heard his thoughts Hermione's hand began to run through his hair, calming him. He knew that she understood and that meant more to him that anything she had ever done. He knew that if he shouted or cursed at her she would understand that he didn't mean it. He knew he was no an easy person to live with but he was really trying and he knew she saw that.

Slowly he turned his head and was met with a questioning look form the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. Raising his lips to hers he thought it was the greatest morning of his life, that is until he heard the banging on the front door of his chambers and Harry's voice calling them both.

"Blood Fucking boy, Worst timing in the world" Severus was cursing as got out of the bed searching the room for his trousers.

All the while Hermione was giggling, he really wasn't that scary when he was butt naked trying to pull on his trousers without falling over. If only she'd known that when she sat trembling in his potions class all those years ago. This thought caused more giggles to spill from her, earning her a glare from Severus.

She waited until she could hear voices in the adjacent room before she got out of bed, for once glad that temperature didn't bother her as her feet touched the freezing exposed stone floor.

Holding up the piece of tattered cloth that had been her skirt she thanked the gods for magic as she cast a wandless spell to sew the seams back together and mend the rips, feeling a slight sadness as she remembered it was one that Mrs Weasley had taught her.

Once she was dresses and joined the men in the other room they were already looking tense, she laid her hand of Severus' shoulder trying to stop the outburst she could see brewing from tuning into an attack on Harry. It would be horrid for them to destroy their still fragile new relationship over whatever was happening; it was a miracle that they could even stand each other and she knew she was partly to blame for them attempting to be civil but she liked to think they would one day be something close to friends.

Feeling Severus relax under her hand she felt confident to voice her questions;

'What's has happened that can possibly be so bad that you have to wind each other up like school children?' her voice had taken on the tone it had once had when she answered a question in class that no-one else had known the answer to and it was strangely comforting for Severus to hear.

'Albus has decided that we are to spend all day training' Severus replied. Seeing her confused look he added in a strained voice 'with the rest of the Order'.

Understanding masked her face as she processed the implications of this. So far she, or Severus, had displayed their skills in front of anyone in the Order, purely as they felt sparring was a private thing that they did together. It was not something they wished to boast about nor was it something they wanted recognition for. Training in a group like this would expose the skills they possessed, they had shown some at the fight in the great hall but that was over a months ago and with everything that was going on at the time no one had been paying much attention.

'Can we avoid it?' was Hermione's next question, her mind working overtime to find any excuse possible.

'I cannot think of a way to get out of attending and Harry had informed that Albus will be enforcing this decision personally.' Severus' grim voice confirmed what she had already known; there was no way out.

'I tried to explain that you didn't need the training but the old man was having none of it. You know what he's been like these last weeks Hermione, it seems even being the boy who lived doesn't give me the right to a say in decisions that involve me' Anyone would have heard the frustration in the dark haired wizards voice as he spoke and Hermione knew he was becoming more and more impatient with the Order and Albus in particular.

'It's okay Harry. We'll just have to go along with it and see what happens.' Hermione sounded resigned but Severus could hear an undercurrent in her voice that told him something different. She was going to fight this and he really wanted to be there when she did. But for now she was reassuring Harry and trying to clam him and he had to admit it was working.

After Harry had left Hermione and Severus had little time to think about their personal relationship as the went to get ready for the training session but Severus did manage to shock Hermione when she was heading back to her room to change.

'You might as well just move your things in here' The simple sentence had meant so much that Hermione had felt tears prickle the backs of the eyes. He wanted her. Of course he didn't seem to realise the impact his words had had. He may be powerful and one of the elite _Emargianti_ but at the end of the day he was a man and men were clueless when it came to this kind of thing. What she failed to notice was the stiffness of Severus's shoulders as she turned away.

As Hermione left the room Severus let out the breath he was holding. She hadn't rejected him, sure she hadn't necessarily accepted him but she hadn't said no. he was not sure how those words had slipped past his tight control, he was never one for spontaneous gesture yet somehow he had just invited Hermione to live with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The incessant tapping on his window woke Harry from his slumber. It was barley eight in the morning and as far as he was concerned that was far to early for post. The owl, however, seemed to have a different idea.

It was an owl that Harry had never seen before yet he was confident that he knew who the letter it carried was from. Someone he should not have any want or need to have any contact with, yet the one person, aside from Hermione, that he felt he could trust.

After feeding the owl with some left over pieces of bacon Harry sent it to the owlery to rest. That left him with the piece of parchment is his hand, the elegant wiring on the cover confirmed its author and Harry found himself tingling like a school bout as he unrolled it.

_Harry,_

_I hope you are well. I am fine, nothing to complain about. _

_I haven't heard anything from any of my associates about what we discussed, but I will keep my eyes and ears open._

_Anyway, I hard Hermione was back at Hogwarts. How is she? I know you missed her when she was gone over the summer, I'm glad you have someone who can be your friend openly and not have to sneak around with letters every few weeks. It's good for you to confide in her and I have every faith that she would accept us. Is there still an us? I like to think so…_

_I'm going to be out of the country on business for a few weeks so don't expect to hear from me until I return. _

_Keep safe Harry and I will do the same,_

_Love always_

_D_

_Buy the time he had finished the letter Harry could feel tears in his eyes. It was unfair that he had to hide his feeling but he had no doubt that the people in his life would never accept him if they knew. The world was at war and that had to be put first._

_Sometimes he couldn't help but envy Hermione, she had her relationship with Severus and a way out of the war any time she wanted though he knew she never would. He was the boy who lived and he had bare the crippling responsibility that went with that. _

_Before his thoughts could turn to his parents, as they often did, Harry jumped from his bed and headed for the shower. He had many things to think about but for the rest of the day that letter was the only thing that occupied his mind._

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Hermione was amused by the amount of sweat pouring from Harry as they jogged around the room. It was all part of Dumbledore's training programme and she was fining it very easy as she didn't need to breath and she had enhanced capabilities._

_Harry on the other hand was beginning to feel like he would be better off facing Voldemort again; they had been running constantly for almost twenty minuets and he was feeling as though he would pass out at any moment._

_They were in a room in the Dungeons, near the meeting room used for order meetings. After Hermione and Harry had ventured down into the dungeons the rest of the order had been much more cautious when they were under the ground and so when they had discovered this room so close to the others that they uses they had decided it was perfect for use as a gym/training room._

_Harry hated it, it was hot and dark, there was no ventilation causing it to smell like sweat and worst of all the floor was hard stone which was painful for running on and was slippery when it got wet. _

_As far as he could see the training Dumbledore had insisted upon was nothing more than an excuse to keep an eye on him. Yet another curse of being the boy who lived, everyone wanted to know where he was all the time. He hated the scar on his forehead, hated that he was famous because his parents were dead. He had given everything he had for this cause, most his sacrifices were made before he had been old enough to understand what is was he had lost._

_He knew the tragic events a Godric's Hollow all those years ago were not his fault but he still had an irrational feeling that if they hadn't loved him so much they might still be here, he then ended up feeling as though he was taking away the meaning behind his mothers sacrifices. Lilly Potter was an amazing woman and he would have loved to have known her. _

_The whole order were crammed into the room, adding to the heavy must that settled in the room. They were all running laps around the large room, it was at least the size of the great hall. Unlike Harry, Hermione could see the point behind the training she just wished that they could come up with something more imaginative that running laps and practicing basic spells to help them. She knew the it was important that they remained in good shape, the order would have to engage in combat at some point, she also knew most of the order were fed up with the monotonous sessions. _

_Looking around the room she could see Ginny and Ron, her former friends were jogging together much like she had Harry._

_Ginny looked smug as usual, though Hermione couldn't think why and Ron just looked sad. His features seemed to be drained, like he had just given up. _

_As angry as she was with him at that moment Hermione didn't want him to be hurt. She knew he was stubborn and wouldn't consider being friends with her again if it meant admitting that he was wrong. She accepted that, but it still hurt her to seem him so sad, he was a nice guy being tainted by his vindictive sister. _

_Ginny, Hermione thought, was becoming more and more hateful everyday. Unlike her close friendship with Ron Hermione had never been close to the younger girl. She couldn't understand how someone who came from such a loving family could become so spiteful, Ginny had a family who would have supported her in everything, yet she pulled away from them. _

_Ginny had chosen Harry Potter and when she couldn't have him she had decided that no-one else could. Hermione had her suspicions as to how Ginny had begun to influence the other members of the Weasley clan; being the only daughter could have it's advantages, with a smile and a word all the men in her family would bend over backwards to please her and Ginny exploited that fact to get exactly what she wanted._

_Hermione didn't know what she had planned yet but she had told Severus to keep an eye on the girl and she would do anything it took to stop her hurting Harry again. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_The session continued for the next two hours. As today was Saturday they were focusing only on physical fitness leaving everyone, expect Hermione and Severus, sweaty and exhausted by the time they staggered back up into the main part of the castle. _

_Hermione had accompanied Harry back to his chambers and was currently sitting on his bed waiting for him to take a shower. One thing Hermione hated about the session was that her overdeveloped senses had intensified the horribly sour smell of sweat, causing her to want to vomit. She insisted Harry have a shower immediately, he had chuckled and said they all had to sufferer form the exercise so it was only fair that she did as well._

_She could hear him humming to himself as he washed. His responsible demeanour fading for a moment to revel the child he still was, she chuckled to herself as she scanned his room. _

_The chambers Harry kept at Hogwarts were small but homely unlike the house he had inherited from his godfather, which often felt cold and lifeless. He had a small living room and a bedroom with en-suite bathroom._

_The living room had a set of black leather sofas and a coffee table and the room was centred around the large fire place. It was decorated in warm red, Harry had wanted to show off his house colours. This was a sophisticated room which Harry used to impress visitors. It was in stark contrast to the bedroom which was so typically that of young man._

_The room in which Hermione now sat was filled with Qudditch things, clothes were flung haphazardly around the room, the bed had not been made until Hermione had arrived, she had wanted to sit down and the large bed was the only place not covered in stuff. _

_The mess in this room would drive Hermione mad, she like things neat and tidy. She was unbelievably thankful that Severus was as meticulous as she was as she didn't think she could live with someone who she constantly had to nag about tidying up after themselves. _

_A smile spread across her face as she thought of living with Severus, she was warmed by the thought of waking up to him every morning, waking up in his arms that morning had been perfect. She had seen the trust he held for her, letting her see him asleep was the ultimate gesture of faith, he had let her see him at his most venerable something that she knew he had never done with anyone. _

_For him sex had always been a fun way of reliving tension that had never meant much to him and he had confided in her that he had never let any of the women he had screwed stay the night. Usually ending the relationship before they could become that serious until he ended up deliberately looking for women who would not want anything more than a good fuck. _

"_BOO!!1" Hermione was startled from her thoughts by a very amused Harry. He had finished his shower and been unable to resist scaring Hermione as it was so rare for her to be so completely lost in whatever she was thinking about. _

"_Harry James Potter that was not funny" Hermione was unable to keep the grin from her face as she scolded him. _

"_Mia you know I love ya " Harry smiled as he sat down next to her on the bed, stretching his long legs out. In a relaxed pose. "so come on spill, what's got your mind so enthralled? " although he was almost positive he knew who her mind was focus on he wanted to ear it from her own lips. _

"_He asked me to move it with him" Hermione was itching to tell someone and Harry was the only person she trusted enough. _

_The look on his face was priceless, is mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed to get the word out his mouth and when he did is was a simple "Wow " that came out._

"_I know, I never even imagined that he would do something like this so soon and I know not everyone will approve. I mean, it was such a surprise and I really love you know?" _

_Harry knew exactly what she was talking about but he was happy to let her able on. It was good to see her so happy for once. It was a shock to him to hear that Severus had acted on his feelings as the man had always been do reserved. _

_He was happy for her but he couldn't help the jealousy that flooded him and for a split second he wanted to tell her all about his love. It was something he hadn't thought about since she returned but the letter this morning had jogged feelings that he thought he had managed to bury a long time ago. _

_They talked for another few hours, until Hermione decided she had better go and begin packing up stuff for the big move. If she was quick she would be finished before Severus got back from his afternoon with Araia. _

_He had wanted to talk the old vampire about something but he had not told her what. _

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_It took her about three hours to move everything but she had managed to get all of her things moved in and be sitting on the sofa comfortably when Severus walked in._

_He knew something was different the moment he walked in and taking one look at Hermione e knew she had accepted his offer. Happiness and relief flooded thorough him as he walked over to the sofa and sat next to her._

"_Welcome home hunny" she whispered in a teasing voice raising a deep chuckle from him._


	14. Chapter 14

A/N; wow another chapter, more of a lead up to the next chapter but it just felt right to have it as a stand alone chapter. Thankx to everyone who has reviewed.

Enjoy and please leave a comment.

It wasn't until later that evening when Hermione had fallen asleep next to him on the sofa that Severus had time to contemplate the day's events.

He couldn't believe that she was actually here, sure they had shared the sofa before but never in this manner before. She has resting her head on his chest, her hair fanning over his stomach. She was facing up towards him and she had the most serene look on her face.

She was half on his lap and half on the sofa next to him, curled into a ball with her legs under chin. She had fallen asleep over an hour ago but Severus had no desire to move.

She really was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, her hair was soft beneath his fingers. every time he moved one of the strands a sweet scent wafted up to invade his senses. She was everywhere taking over every part of him, the most secret parts that no-one had ever seen before and she had seen the parts that no-one had ever wanted to see.

She was perfectly still, vampires did not need to breath, and that made it impossible to ignore the fact that she was essentially dead. To anyone else that though would have been depressing but to him was the complete opposite; they had eternity to spend together and that was a priceless gift.

In fact, it was the very thing he had wanted to talk to Araia about that afternoon. The old woman was well versed in the ways of love and she had known him since he was a child. Something Hermione didn't not know about Araia was that she had known Severus' mother. It was not something they talked about but it was always there, she was his link to a mother that he could barely remember.

It was times like these that he was grateful for her, she was always around when he needed some advice and now was a one of those times.

They had spent the afternoon talking not only about Hermione but about Severus's place in the world. It was not something they had talked about since he had first come to the Cravat manor but it was something that was becoming more and more relevant.

Severus had never wanted to acknowledge his farther as a part of his life before, never accepting what was done to him but now it seemed he was ready to explore the true meaning of his heritage.

It was his relationship with Hermione that was the catalyst for this change, he had found someone who would accept him no matter what happened. It was amazing thing for Severus to feel confident, despite the persona he projected to the people around him he had always had problems with self confidence. It was the main reason he had never cared much for the truth of his heritage, it would have made him even more different, he pushed people away yet craved the attention that brought him. It was not easy for him to admit but he was afraid of the rejection he was sure he would have gotten if he revealed himself, better to be just another vampire.

Until he had found her, she was in the same position as he was, a new breed of their species. He had found acceptance and love in her eyes when he had finished bearing his soul to her, despite the horrible truth that he had told and that was the greatest thing she could have given him.

Severus had wanted to speak to Araia about his sudden urge to claim Hermione the previous night. It had taken him by surprise that she had been willing to try his sex game and even more so that she had enjoyed it.

At first he thought his urge was related to the activities they were undertaking at the time but it had only intensified when he had woken up in her arms.

"it's natural to want the one you love Severus" Araia had told him, "the love you feel for Hermione is great and true and our nature calls for it to be solidified in the ancient customs of our people. It must be done Severus, but you must make sure she realises the implications. It cannot be revoked." her face softened as she added "I have no doubt that she will agree Severus, all you have to do is ask".

She made it sound so simple but Severus knew it would take time for him to work up the courage to ask her. His demon screamed for her even when they were apart but he had to make sure she wanted it. Living with her would be a big step and he was anxious to see if she could cope with him all day everyday.

His surprise when he had arrived at his chambers to find her waiting, with all of her things now mixed in with his. He knew straight away form the scent that she had moved in and the lurch in his stomach was one of joy as he settled next to her on the sofa that was now not only his; it was theirs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The letter was perfect, she had found the material she was looking for. This was what she had been waiting for.

She knew that there had to be a reason. Harry was going to be so devastated he would run to her. She would, of course, make him grovel before accepting him back into her life with open arms. He would never find out that it was her that let his secret out.

What she hadn't counted on was the fact that Harry had no intentions of ever going back to her, he had found the person he wanted and would do anything to keep him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Araia was worried, the clan were putting more and more pressure on her to get Hermione away from the castle, Calatios was anxious to have his two most powerful members where he could keep an eye on them.

The old woman had known him long enough to tell that their leader knew something she didn't, she only hoped it wasn't going to prove fatal to the developing relationship between her two young friends. She had never seen Severus so happy, she was sure that Hermione would be good for him form the first moment she saw the two of them together .

Her movements were slow as she moved towards her chest, when she had decided to stay on at the castle she had asked her beloved to pack her some of her belongings. The chest itself was over 600 years old, it was rich red oak with a raging lioness carved into the top. It had been a present from the lady Adrianna when she had first been turned.

The most valuable aspect of the chest was the hidden compartment sewn into the lining, it was unique was of sewing using the makers own magic to create the hidden pocket. It was a rare talent that very few people possessed.

The compartment held some of Araia's most personal and precious possessions, things she had had in her possession since she was a child. As she opened the compartment the sweet smell of lavender drifted up. Taking a deeply satisfying, yet unnecessary, breath Araia was momentarily distracted by a wave of memories.

Shaking her head softly she pulled out the item she was looking for. As she slowly lifted it out from the box it appeared to shimmer like water.

This was a coven heirloom, the dress was once Adrianna's herself and was worn by ever new female tot enter the coven. It was part of an ancient ritual welcoming ceremony that Hermione was going to be a part of.

All Hallows eve was the night that the demon inside each of them took control of their minds. It was a powerful occasion and always a special night. However this year it was going to be something special. It was the first new female welcoming that the clan had seen since Araia herself.

Blood was going to flow and Araia just hoped Hermione was strong enough to cope with the first real kill she had ever made.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N - I know that this has taken a really long time and is really short but I just haven't been in the mood for writing, this is due to a close family friend being diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully she is ok now but its been a hard time. Hopefully the next chapter will be up in the next week.

The ritual- part 1

The knife's blade caught the light as she slammed in down into the warm flesh beneath her, a roar erupted from somewhere in the dank basement. Suddenly hundreds of eyes were set on her as fresh blood spilled over the already stained stone floor.

She could hear the heart beat of her victim, like a drum deafening her, pounding in her ears entrancing her with its seductive beat. Slowly she leaned forwards, no longer the shy schoolgirl, when she reached the blade embedded in the flesh she flicked out her tongue tasting for the very first time the blood of the clan leader.

It was an ancient tradition in within the vampire race, dating back to the very beginning of the species. The newest member of a clan must be welcomed and confirmed by a ritual performed partly in the presence of the whole clan and partly in private with just the elder as a witness.

It was the last part of this ritual that Hermione was dreading the most, she had never been alone with the elder and Severus had refused to tell her anything of what was going to happen. She had been prepared for the first part of the ritual which involved stabbing the leader and drinking from him.

It was an overwhelming sensation to feel the blood of someone so powerful slide down her throat. It felt so right to her, to be a part of him and apart of this family. She imagined this was what it was like to be electrocuted, a powerful energy flowing through every part of her body, sending to a place where she wasn't sure if she was living in heaven or being sent to hell.

As she felt herself being pulled back from her pray she struggled, unable to focus properly, the world around her was blurred and surreal. She felt a strong hand grasp her shoulder sending pleasure seeping into her mind.

Somewhere in her sub-conscious se registered that the hand felt familiar but in her haze she didn't comprehend it. She spun, with the grace of a cat, catching the other hand of her assailant before it could reach her.

Lips crashed against hers and in an instant her demon had risen to the surface, mixing with her mind, melting into her.

Mouths battling for dominance, neither of them registering the chaos that was erupting all around them as the entire clan, who had been watching the ritual, began move against each other.

Heavy seductive music began to pulse through the dark room intensifying the rhythmic thumping of excited bodies grinding against each other. Clothing was torn form bodies in frantic couplings. The atmosphere in the room gained intensity as demons took control of their hosts for the first time in many years.

Hermione has been told that this was going to happen by Severus who had been nervously pacing their room in the Cravat manor since their arrival the previous morning. He had reverted back to his 'Professor' persona, snapping at her for the smallest thing.

When he had explained the ritual to her she had been terrified of the consequences. She learnt that the ritual was not only ancient but very dangerous. To the magical community it was considered one of the darkest forms of magic.

Blood magic was considered inherently evil as t involved promises and commitments that were sealed in blood containing the very essence of a persons being. It reminded Hermione of the muggle phrase 'selling your soul'.

"The difference is that for vampires blood is only half of our life force" Severus had lectured her while still trying to wear a hole in polished marble floor. "The blood that flows in our veins only nourishes the human parts of our existence. The demon inside us nourishes what remains of our soul."

Hermione had successfully deduced from this that although she was forming an irreversible bond with the clan it was not as life- threatening as it would be to a human. She also made a note in her mind to research the issue when they returned to Hogwarts.

The ceremony was taking place on Halloween, All Hallows Eve as it is traditionally called, in the basement room Hermione had discovered when she had last been a resident of the house. It seemed different than the last time she had seen it.

The room was still dark, the candles creating the same shadows on the same blood stained walls, but the clan seemed more anxious. The last time Hermione had seen this room full of people there had been copious amounts of sex and blood play. When she had entered the room earlier that evening, with Severus standing behind her like a bodyguard, she had felt the tension creep up her spine.

The room had been almost pitch black when she entered at the far end, as she had walked down the room towards the alter at the far end, the sea of vampires parted with ironic similarity of the parting of the red sea in the Bible. There were more people than last time but she barley noticed.

At school she had always hated being the centre of attention but now, in this strange place among the people who are forming her new family, she felt privileged that such powerful and ancient people would consider her worth all this trouble and effort.

She continued her walk through the clan members with Severus by her side. The haunting eyes following her towards the alter.

Laying on the alter, completely naked and exposed in all his glory was Calatios, looking every part the majestic leader. His eyes were closed but he was till aware of everything that was happening in the room.

Once Hermione had tasted his blood Calatios felt the bond form between himself and Hermione, it was small but it was the beginning of a link that would grow when the next stage of the ritual was completed.

This was a momentous occasion for him and the clan as a whole. They still ad no idea what this girl was capable of, the first half blood vampire and she was bond to him. He thought of the glory and the power that would come from using the girl to fight the war.


End file.
